


Healing the Dark: A Solangelo Fanfiction

by Mary1425



Category: Olympus Heroes
Genre: Attempted Suicide, BoyxBoy, Depression, Homophobia, Nursing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, anguish, hades is a good father, thugs - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:43:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 46,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28861260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mary1425/pseuds/Mary1425
Summary: first of all, I want to clarify that the rights to this story belong to "@daughter_of_olympus" and you can find it on WattpadA Solangelo story. Takes place where Blood of Olympus left off. Will drags Nico to the infirmary, where he discovers more than just physical scars tormenting the son of Hades. Can Will heal Nico and bring him Solace?Themes of depression, anxiety, and self-harm expressed.(This has been adopted from musicaldoctor18 to be continued)(Cliché description but not cliché story)
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	1. Beginnings

Nico's POV:

Nico walked back over to Will Solace whose eyes lit up as he saw the son of Hades coming back. The skeletal butterflies came back. Nico forced them down, not trusting himself to jump into another unrequited crush.

"What was that about?" Will asked, curious.

"Nothing just had to clear something up."

"Well alright, now that you've taken care of that, it's time for three days in the infirmary," Will said, a smirk unfolding on his features.

"Can we start later? I want to be able to say goodbye to Hazel and Reyna and everyone going back to Camp Jupiter." Will nodded.

"Of course, but if you don't report straight to the infirmary, afterward I am going to-"

"What? Make me sit in the sun all day? I can summon skeletons and commune with the dead, so you can't really threaten me," Nico stated.

"Not without dissolving into a pool of shadows you can't. We have talked about this; no more Underworld-y powers. Anyway, I was going to say that I was going to curse you to rhyme and speak in couplets all day," Will smirked. The grin was wiped off of Nico's face. Nico had seen that before and that was NOT something he wanted to be on the receiving end of. He mumbled indistinctly. Will leaned forward with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Fine, you win," Nico gave up. The son of Apollo started laughing.

"Those are words I never thought I would hear coming from your mouth." Nico felt himself turn red.

"Shut up, Solace." Will grinned even more and opened his mouth to say something else but was interrupted by one of his siblings calling for his help in the infirmary. Solace started jogging backward, "That's my cue. See you soon, Death Boy!" He turned around and jogged the rest of the way down to the infirmary.

"Don't call me that," Nico muttered under his breath, but Will was already out of sight.

Nico had just finished helping Hazel load her stuff onto the van and had given her a kiss on the cheek. He had waved goodbye to Reyna who came up to Nico and gave him a hug. Nico tensed but relaxed into it.

"We will see each other again. Please keep in touch, I want to keep an eye on you," Reyna whispered into his ear. Nico smiled. Just like Jason had become like an older brother to him, Reyna acted like an older sister.

"I will." Reyna pulled away to look at him. Her eyebrows knit with concern.

"And if you have any problems with anything or anyone, I'm just an Iris message away," Nico mentally rolled his eyes. Yup, he thought just like a concerned older sister. "And please no shadowing traveling for a while. No use in injuring yourself,"

"You sound like Will," Reyna raised an eyebrow and gave him a look.

"Who is Will?" Nico mentally cursed himself in Italian.

"No one. Just a healer. Now get your Romans out here." Reyna smiled.

"Goodbye Nico," she walked back over to the vans. Nico raised a hand up in farewell. He dropped his hand and turned back to the Camp. He headed back to his cabin, completely forgetting his promise to Will. He got to the door and looked up to see Solace, with his arms crossed, blocking his entrance to his cabin.

"No way are you getting in here, you made a promise," Nico cursed under his breath. "And me, knowing your disappearing and brooding ways, knew to make sure you remembered that you had an appointment."

"Brooding?" Nico asked angrily. Most people would back off at this point, but as Nico had learned, this certain son of Apollo was ridiculously stubborn.

"Oh, don't act like a drama queen. You know it's true. Everyone knows it," Nico's temper started rising.

"Don't pretend as you understand me, Solace."

"Don't act like you are so misunderstood, di Angelo. You are not as alone as you think you are," Will shot back.

Wanna bet? How not alone was I when I was trapped in Tartaru- Whoa Nico he thought, you cannot afford to go down that path right now.

"Whatever. I am not having this conversation with you." Nico's walls went even higher than they already were. He was not about to let Will, much let anyone in. But Will apparently had his own ideas.

"As your Doctor," Nico rolled his eyes. "It is my responsibility to heal you physically as well as emotionally." Yeah, like anyone could do that.

"What can I do to make you shut up?" Nico asked.

"Infirmary and best rest for three days, starting now. Doctors' orders," Will stated, with a small smile.

"Look, I'm fine, I'm not injured, and I'm not tired." Nico was lying through his teeth. He had some deadly injuries from his time shadow jumping halfway across the globe. Those werewolf lacerations, which were stitched hastily by Reyna, were not healing at all, though they were hidden under a black jacket. He was so weak from his days of shadow jumping that he should not even be breathing by normal standards. He had countless other injuries that had never even been looked over by a healer before. And... other scars, that he did not want to even acknowledge. He had not had a full night's sleep, which he did not get from passing out, in months, because of the nightmares that were sure to come. He had not even eaten a full meal in months either. He was just a mess, but he was not going to admit that to himself or that accursed son of Apollo.

But, even as Nico lied, he knew it was weak. Will thought so too. His eyes narrowed and he said, rather forcefully. "Don't lie to me, Nico. I can see the bags under your eyes. You are as pale as a ghost. Your clothes are hanging off you. And I bet you that if I grabbed your hands, they would be oozing the darkness from all your traveling. You are coming to the infirmary and that is final." Nico stepped back. He had not expected Will Solace, who seemed so laid back to be so... passionate and determined to get him to the infirmary. "You have to let people in to help you, Nico. You can't do everything alone," Will said, more delicately. Nico was about to make a scathing remark when Jason Grace decided now would be a good time to interrupt.

"Hey, Nico! What's-" he stopped as he saw Nico glaring at Will and Will looking concerned. "Am I interrupting something?" Will looked at the son of Jupiter with a smile.

"No, you aren't. I was just escorting Nico here to the infirmary so he can get healed and get some rest." Nico backed further away from the healer, who moved to grab Nico's arm.

"I told you I'm fine,"

"And I told you to stop lying, you need to rest. You look dead on your feet,"

"Never heard that one before."

"Nico-"

"I am NOT coming with you," Jason was watching this conversation with his mouth open. Nico guessed Jason was just surprised as he was that Will seemed determined to break Nico's stubbornness and was not terrified of him. Nico knew that he intimidated Jason, even if they were friends. When Jason saw Nico looking at him for support, he cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well I think you should go to the infirmary, Nico. You haven't been since we've been back and from what Reyna told me you had some pretty nasty-" Nico's eyes widened in surprise as he cut off the son of Jupiter.

"Shut UP, Grace!" Nico really did not want Will to know about those werewolf claw marks; he was going to get such a lecture from everyone. But Will had heard what Jason had said.

"Pretty nasty what, Nico?" Nico groaned. Why me?

"Nothing okay, can you both just leave me-"

"Alone? Gods no, Nico," Jason said, protectively. "You need to get your injuries looked at and get some sleep. I know you did not get much of that on the Argo II. I know you have more injuries than all of us combine. You have been through hell and back. Just accept some help." Nico gave him the death glare and Jason stepped back though he did not turn away. He was not leaving. Nico threw his arms in defeat.

"Fine, take me to the infirmary. The sooner I get in there, the faster I get out." Will uncrossed his arms, a smile breaking out on his face as he clapped his hands together.

"Well, if you are going to be so reluctant to go to the infirmary, I guess I am going to have to drag you there," Will said with a mischievous grin on his face. Warning bells went off in Nico's head.

"I don't think that's such a good-" Jason started, but it was too late. Nico's instincts had not kicked in fast enough and he was thrown over Will Solace's shoulder, like a sack of pomegranates without warning. "-idea." Jason finished. Nico started freaking out. He did NOT like to be touched. Without meaning too, his emotions got the better of him and a skeletal hand broke through the surface.

"PUT ME DOWN," Nico screamed forcefully. Will caught on quickly and dropped him. Nico fell straight onto his back but pushed himself up using his elbows. He gulped down his frustration. Will looked aghast and tried to help him up but stopped himself. Jason ran over to Nico and crouched down.

"You okay, man?" Nico was mortified. It was embarrassing to be thrown over someone's shoulder, but far more mortifying to freak out about it. He pushed himself up and didn't reply to Jason's question. He walked over to the bony hand, jutting from the surface, considered it, and sent it back underground.

"I thought I said no more Underworld stu-" Will was cut off by Jason.

"Look Solace, lay off him, okay? I know you are trying to help, but Nico's been through a lot and he really doesn't like being touched..."

Nico missed the rest of the conversation as he paced around a bit to get his emotions under control. He looked up to find two sets of eyes looking at him. Jason's were filled with protection and Will's with concern. Nico's started seeing black spots as he stumbled. Jason moved to catch him, but Nico righted himself. He shook his head to clear the dizziness. He should not attempt to summon any more skeletons. Maybe he did need to go to the infirmary.

"Okay, let's go," he mumbled, walking past Jason and Will, down to the infirmary.


	2. Stitches

**Dedicated to IAmPosefishFearMe and ThE_LegeNd_OF_LonK**

Will's POV:

"Hey, I know you care about Nico, and I do too, but right now, I really need to heal him, and I have a feeling that he won't let me if there are a lot of people here." Jason sighed and looked to the ground.

"I had a feeling you were going to say something like that," he looks up at Will. "If he needs me or needs anything or something happens-"

"I'll come and find you," Will finished, smiling. He was glad to see that Nico had a friend like Jason to help him recover. "Of course, you have my word." With that, Will walked into the infirmary, shutting the door.

Nico was standing to the side, looking as though he was trying to melt into the shadows. Will could practically feel discomfort rolling off the son of Hades. Will looked up at the infirmary. There were very few campers inside. Most of the injuries sustained from the war with Gaea could be treated from the cabins of the wounded, but some were just too harmful to let out of sight. There had been numerous casualties from the fight, and some that Will had tried, but failed to prevent- Stop Will he thought There is no time for guilt right now. You have a patient to help.

"You, sir, are not going anywhere. You have to get past me first!" Will stated, holding down Nico's arms.

Nico flinched when he touched his left arm, but not the right arm which meant the anesthetic had finally kicked in. Nico did not try to move his arm. He looked up at Will. They were inches apart. They were silent for a few seconds before Will remembered his place. He removed his hands. He was a doctor. He was supposed to be helping Nico, not hitting on him. But when he looked into Nico's eyes, he just got trapped. Nico's eyes looked shattered because of memories. But they intrigued Will and he wanted to gaze into those onyx orbs, deciphering the secrets hidden within them. He shook his head and focused back on his duty.

"Okay the anesthetic has set in, I am going to begin the process," Nico cleared his throat as though trying to recollect his thoughts too. He detected a faint blush on the son of Hades. This made Will happy. He had been a distraction to Nico and had gotten him all flustered, "Oh, you can get comfortable. This may take a while to finish." Nico swung his legs up onto the bed and laid propped up against the unicorn down pillows. Will rolled over his chair, pulled on some gloves, and began working on removing the stitches.

——-------------------------------------------------------

Nico's POV:

Nico refused to look at Will Solace as he started removing his stitches. Nico did not want to admit it, but he had gotten lost in the son of Apollo's beautiful blue eyes. They had sparkled with mischief and teasing, with a little bit of worry. Will's smile was infectious and could be blinding. His nose was splashed with sun-kissed freckles. Gods Nico thought Stop thinking about him. But he could not. The way Will had looked so concerned when he saw the werewolf claw marks made Nico felt like Will care. Nico had felt Will brush his fingers along his scars and he had gotten chills. He did not want any questions about that, but Will had refrained. And when Will had just held his arms down, though Nico was uncomfortable with the boy touching him, he relaxed as he realized how muscular and strong the son of Apollo was. And his hair was golden as though the sun had kissed it. And when Will spoke, it was like a melody and Nico slowly started to fall for it.

Speaking of Will's voice, he had not heard it in a while. He turned his head to look at the golden-haired healer sitting next to him. Will was so engrossed in his work that he did not even notice Nico looking at him. Nico saw a part of Will he had not seen before. His doctor sides. He was so focused on taking out the stitches that Nico did not think a pegs stampede would disturb him from his work. His eyebrows were scrunched with concern and focus. His eyes were filled with determination and a certain amount of care, that was always glowing in his eyes. His mouth was tight with concentration and Nico observed that he was whispering under his breath, though too faintly for Nico to hear the words. Nico enjoyed watching him. When people did not realize they were being looked at, they were truly themselves and they did certain things that probably nobody else knew they did. Nico observed this side of people many times as he tended to sink into the shadows and rarely ever be seen. But there were exceptions. Like the one sitting in front of him, who, as if reading Nico's thoughts, looked up at the boy staring at him.

"Oh, hi. Did you say something? Sometimes I get caught up in my work and do not notice if someone is trying to get my attention," Will looked sheepish, pausing in his work. Nico cleared his throat. Quick he thought Make up an excuse for staring at him.

"I guess I'm just tired," Nice excuse. "I guess I just zoned out." He was exhausted, but he did not want to sleep especially since there were people around that could see him if he dreamed. Although he trained himself to scream silently and cry without making a sound, Nico could not prevent his shaking and if someone were in the room with him; they would be bound to notice. And knowing Will, he would not let Nico out of his sight. Nico's thoughts were interrupted by Will getting up.

"I'm going to get you started on an IV on your other arm then. It has a sleeping draught mixed in with it so you can sleep, and we can also get some nutrition in you," Will spoke. Nico got a little nervous. He had never had a sleeping draught before, but he was fairly sure that it prevented nightmares of normal demigods. But, then again, Nico was far from normal. Will started speaking.

"I'm going to go get one of my siblings to help with the IV. Be right back." Will ducked past the dividers, but his head popped back into view. "And don't even think about leaving, Death Boy,"

Nico cursed him softly in Italian. He hated that nickname. He looked at his numb arm. The stitches had been pulled out and the wounds were open but secured with butterfly stickers. Blood was running down Nico's arm. He looked up as Will and a girl came back into his area. Nico did not know who the girl was. Knowing she was from Apollo's cabin, Nico guessed she was overly sweet just like a certain blonde boy who was looking expectantly at him. He had a band of rubber in his gloved hand and the IV drip in the other. He hung up the IV drip on the pole by his bed and gave the band of rubber to his sister.

"We are going to put a tourniquet on your arm so we can find a vein and insert the IV. Please make a fist," Will ordered. Nico obliged and felt the band wrapped around his upper arm. He felt Will prodding his arm for a vein. He looked at his sibling as they searched his arm. Will looked triumphant as he found the vein. He held down Nico's arm and even grabbed his fisted hand as his sister prepped the IV. Nico flinched as Will touched him but relaxed as Will rubbed soothing circles into his fist. He had not had comfort like that since Bianca.

"Now, try not to flinch again; you are going to feel a slight pinch," There came the pinch as Nico watched the needle go into his arm. Will have expected him to flinch because he held his arm down harder.

"There you go, you're all set. The draught should kick in soon." Nico felt her take off the tourniquet. She nodded to Will as she left the two boys alone. Will was still holding onto Nico. Nico coughed and looked at Solace. Will jumped as he realized what he was doing. His hands came off. Nico wished Will had stayed for a little longer, grasping to his hand. One of Will's hands went to the back of his neck, as he looked sheepish.

"Sorry, I forgot what I was doing. You are all set with the IV. I'll- I'll just finish up with your stitches," Nico couldn't believe his ears. The son of Apollo, stammering? Nico wondered why.

He shrugged it off as he settled more comfortably on the pillows as Will went through his supplies. Will come back to his other side with a glowing needle and thread. Magical stitches Nico guessed. Nico watched as Will rubbed the area around the claw marks with rubbing alcohol. Nico's eyelids started getting heavier as the draught kicked in. He started breathing heavier because he did not want to sleep, but he started to get pulled under. Will saw him breathing more heavily and squirming trying to get the IV out and looked at him in alarm.

"It's okay Nico! It's just a sleeping draught!" Will leaned across Nico to secure his arm to prevent him from removing the IV. That was the last image Nico saw before sleep claimed him.


	3. Context

Will's POV:  
  
Nico's struggles stopped as the sleeping draught pulled him under. As he held the boy’s arm, he wondered why Nico looked so terrified to go to sleep. Probably because of nightmares, but the sleeping draught prevented that unless the dreams were very, very disturbing. He made a mental note to talk to Clovis, the son of Hypnos after he finished healing Nico.  
  
He pulled his hand back from Nico's arm and checked the IV. It was still securely in place. He nodded to himself and focused on Nico's other arm. The werewolf claws had left some deep wounds in the son of Hades. Since Nico had neglected to report to the infirmary until today, he knew there would be some brutal scarring. Speaking of scars, Will looked at the ones on Nico's wrist. They appeared to have been made by a razor blade but looked about a year old. Maybe Nico had stopped hurting himself, but judging what he had recently been through, Will doubted it. He guessed that he would find similar, more recent scars elsewhere on Nico's body. Will sighed with concern. He hated seeing kids who thought this was the only way to cope. In Will's opinion, it was the worst thing you could do. The best thing to do was to talk to someone about what was troubling you, but Will guessed the son of Hades did not open too much. He could see how high his walls were.  
  
He picked up the glowing thread and needle. The thread was infused with magic and an exceedingly rare piece of healing equipment that was only to be used under dire circumstances. Looking at Nico's arm, this was one of those circumstances. He started singing softly an Ancient Greek hymn to his father as he began to close the gaping wounds. Singing was one of the many talents of Apollo's children that allowed patients to heal faster. He was focused on his work but noticed Nico settle a little more comfortably on his bed as Will sang. A grin worked its way onto his face, as he sang just a little louder.  
  
Will pulled the final stitch through Nico's wound and finished it up. He looked at the pale boy's arm, satisfied with his handiwork. He grabbed nearby bandages and wrapped Nico's arm. He gently placed Nico's arm down. He stood and walked over to his table and medicine cabinet and placed the thread and needle into a special pouch that helped the magical properties of the needle and thread to be retained. He closed the cabinet and threw away his gloves. He needed to examine the rest of Nico.  
  
He turned back to the sleeping son of Hades. While he was sleeping, Nico's face had relaxed. He looked so young and innocent. Will was reminded that he was only fourteen. When he was awake, Nico had the air of someone much more mature, who had seen a lot. He looked so peaceful sleeping, almost like an angel, as his last name suggested. Will smiled a little as he walked back over to Nico. He knew that Nico was unbelievably uncomfortable with it, but Will had to see the rest of his body. Here goes nothing. He unattached the IV drip for a moment pulled Nico's upper body into a sitting position and pulled the black t-shirt over Nico's head. He examined the torso of the boy. Will it take a breath? His torso was littered with scrapes and bruises, but that could be easily fixed with ambrosia. What Will was worried about was the fact that he could practically see Nico's ribs. He had not been eating, which concerned Will. Whether he had chosen not to eat or had not been able to, the healer did not know, but he could tell that whatever food he had had, it was not even a percentage of what he needed. Will would make sure to get actual food into the boy's body. He slowly leaned Nico forward, his head resting on the healer's shoulder, so he could look at his back. It also was littered was cuts and bruises and so many scars. Will was curious as to why there were so many scars, and if Nico had even gotten healed in the infirmary or even by a doctor before. Will started tracing some of the scars with his hands, which caused the sleeping boy to squirm a little, settling himself more comfortably on Will's shoulder. Will stopped and, still supporting Nico, grabbed a clean, white scrub shirt and pulled it over on Nico. Will then slowly laid the boy back onto the bed.  
  
Nico sighed in his sleep and rubbed his face into the pillows as if looking for the warmth he had momentarily felt from Will. Will smiled at Nico, brushing the hair out of the sleeping boy's eyes. All the wounds and bruises eventually start fading with the nectar and unicorn draught in the IV and would start fading when Nico had some ambrosia when he woke up. Will reattached the IV drip and looked at the rest of Nico's body. He removed Nico's shoes and rolled up his pants. Or tried to. They were skinny jeans, so they did not go extremely far. Will had decided to wait to check on Nico's legs until Nico changed into something looser. With that, he tucked the boy under the covers, adjusted his pillows, and left Nico alone to sleep.

Dinner time came and went, but Will stayed in the infirmary and had his sibling bring him a meal from the Pavilion. He was sitting so he could see Nico, who was still dead to the world, and the rest of the patients. There were only two remaining, not including Nico, and they were set to check out for bed rest in their own cabins after the campers in charge of them discharged them tomorrow morning. The infirmary was silent, except for the light snores of a patient. Soon, Nico would be the only camper in the infirmary. That filled Will with butterflies. But Nico had to stay in the infirmary. Completely for medical reasons. Now, he was the only healer in the infirmary as his siblings had all gone to dinner. And since he was head of his cabin, he was also ahead doctor in the infirmary. Whose silence was broken by the doors to the dark infirmary swinging open? Voices filled the room, as Will stood to tell whoever just came in to be quiet.

  
"If you don't mind, this is the infirmary and we have patients who need their rest, so stop talking," Will said quietly, but forcefully, as the demigods who had entered the room stopped. As they quieted down and stepped further into the infirmary into the light of the lamp, Will saw that it was Percy Jackson and Jason Grace. He sighed. "Visiting hours are over for the day, boys. It is past eight and the patients are all asleep. You can come back tomorrow morning. Goodnight," Will said, sternly. Percy and Jason exchanged a look before Jason looked back to Will.

  
"Hey man, I'm sorry; we are just here to check on Nico. He is our good friend and we want to make sure he's okay, you know? He's been through a lot," Jason said, pleadingly. Will saw his and Percy's sincerity in their eyes, so he relented.

  
"Fine, but do not wake him up under any circumstance, understand? He has not gotten a lot of sleep which is what he requires the most," Jason and Percy nodded their understanding and Will lead them to where Nico was sleeping. Jason sat in the chair by Nico's head and Percy stood on the other side as if they were his bodyguards. Some hair had fallen into Nico's face and Jason brushed it out of the way. Will's stomach twisted in jealousy until he realized that it was just a brotherly kind of thing.

  
"How long has he been out for?" Jason asked, concern dotting his voice.

  
"Seven or eight hours."

  
"And he's been asleep the whole time?" Percy asked, looking surprised. Will was taken aback.

  
"Yeah, why? Is that surprising?"

  
"Well, nightmares I mean. I mean his life has not exactly been easy these past couple of months, so I'm surprised you actually got him to go to sleep. He is usually reluctant. He stays awake for days at a time."

  
"Nightmares?" Will asked. Demigods had nightmares, he knew that, but he had not known anyone to have that severe of nightmares that made one dread to go to sleep. And to cause you to stay awake for days at a time. What would you have to see to cause that?

  
"Yeah, I mean he's been through hell and back alone. I mean I went through hell with Annabeth, but we saw a Misted, muted version of it. At one point I had been seriously hurt, and I saw Tartarus for what it truly was and..." Percy looked haunted, as though lost in a terrible memory. Jason reached over Nico and grabbed Percy's shoulder, asking if he was okay. Percy blinked, looked at Jason, and smiled, affirming he was okay. "And I saw it only for a few moments, and I almost went insane and I have the worst nightmares about it... But I'm guessing Nico saw it for what it truly was the whole entire time he was down there, and I can't imagine that he is okay. I wish he would talk to us about it. He probably feels so alone, but he doesn't have to be."

  
Will had never heard Percy speak so seriously before. He truly defended his friends. Will was processing what Percy had said. To hell and back? Will knew Nico had a tough life, which could be hellish. But when he said that Annabeth and he went through it too... Oh, my gods, Percy did not mean hell metaphorically he meant...

  
"Wait, so, Nico went through Tartarus too, without you guys? Like on his own?" Jason and Percy looked at him in surprise.

  
"Yeah, you didn't know?" Jason asked, warily as if he wasn't supposed to share that information. Will shook his head. No wonder Nico looked so broken. He had been to Tartarus, alone! Will's heart broke for Nico as he imagined Nico going through Tartarus and seeing it for what it truly was. Pure terror.

  
"Um, no I didn't know. I do not really know anything about Nico, he will not open up. It kills me to see him hurting, but he won't let me help," as Will said this, he grabbed his hair in frustration. Percy and Jason exchanged yet another look. If they did not have girlfriends, Will would have assumed they were dating, given all the looks they exchanged.

  
"That's just how Nico is, unfortunately, he won't let anyone help. But do not push him, okay? He's been through a lot and not just Tartarus..." Percy started explaining Nico's life story to Will.

  
How Nico had been born in the 1930s. How his mother had been killed. How he had been trapped in the Lotus Hotel for 70 years, then plopped into the 21st century, into a boarding school. Percy went onto explain about Dr. Thorne who had tried to kill Nico, and how Bianca, his sister, had left him to join the Hunters, though Will knew that part, as he was at camp at the time. Percy mentioned his promise to the son of Hades and how he broke that promise, and Nico lost his sister. Nico then ran away through the Labyrinth and traveled all around, by himself, eventually meeting Minos, who became his mentor. Minos had taught Nico the full extent of his powers, and eventually, Nico assumed the role of Ghost King. Nico did not even stay at Camp Half-Blood though and eventually went to the Underworld to be with his father. Will did not think it could get any worse, but Percy kept going. About the River Styx. The Battle of Manhattan. Nico's further isolation at camp. Back to the Underworld to rescue Hazel. Camp Jupiter. Nico's search for the Doors of Death inside the Underworld. How Nico got sucked into Tartarus, though Jason or Percy did not know what had happened to the son of Hades down there. His kidnapping by the Giants. His rescue. His promise to get the Argo II to the House of Hades. Percy stops and looks at Jason, because he was not there for the rest of the journey, because of his side trip to Tartarus. Jason starts up talking about retrieving Diocletian's scepter, though he left out any details about what had happened in Croatia. Nico's further withdrawal into himself. Then, he explained how they got through the House of Hades to save Percy and Annabeth. He finished there.

  
"The rest, I don't know. He and Hedge and Reyna's shadow traveled with the statue to Camp, but Nico or Reyna or Hedge for that matter have not really talked about what happened during their traveling. All we know is that Nico almost killed himself with all the jumps he made." At some point during the tale, Will had collapsed in a chair with his head in his hands. The pain, internal and external, physical, and emotional, that Nico had and was experiencing was unfathomable. He had gotten Nico's story out of Percy and Jason, but Will knew that he did not even know half of it. He did not know how Nico felt when he personally experienced it all. Or all the terrible details of it. Although he did not approve, he understood why the scars littered his wrist. He held back tears of sorrow for the poor son of Hades and looked back up at Jason and Percy, who both had grimaces on their face as if they wished to take away Nico's pain, just as much as Will wished he could. No one person should have to deal with that much pain and misery on their own. Will opened his mouth to say something when the son of Hades stirred.


	4. Dinner

Nico's POV:

Nico had a dreamless sleep, which had been nice. He did have some influence over his dreams, but without the quest to distract him and with the memories of Tartarus weighing down on him, he could not control his dreams recently. Though tonight, because of the sleeping draught, he had just enjoyed a dreamless sleep. He wanted to go back to sleep, but he heard voices whispering above him.

"The rest, I don't know. He and Hedge and Reyna's shadow traveled with the statue to Camp, but Nico or Reyna or Hedge for that matter have not really talked about what happened during their traveling. All we know is that Nico almost killed himself with all the jumps he made." Jason's voice said to his right. So, they were talking about him as he slept. Who was Jason telling though? Probably Will. He was sure he would not, but if Jason had mentioned anything about what had happened in Croatia or his... past feelings towards Percy, Nico would obliterate him. He heard movement in front of him and decided to alert the others that he was awake to prevent any further conversation about him. He started moving as though he was waking up. His eyes fluttered open and he was surprised to see Jason and Percy standing over his head. He tried to push himself into a sitting position, scanning the room for Will who rushed over to him, pushing him back on the pillows.

"Slow down, Death Boy, you aren't going anywhere," Nico rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't trying to. I just wanted to sit up," With that, Will then shifted gears, and helped Nico sit up, adjusting the pillows behind him. "Will," Nico said, the blue orbs of the son of Apollo fixed onto him. "I can do it by myself." With that, Will cleared his throat, embarrassed. Behind Will, Nico saw Percy with a giant grin on his face, as if relishing in Nico's embarrassment. Nico sent a death glare his way. He just shook his head before speaking.

"How are you feeling Nico? You seem to be very... pampered here," Nico mentally cursed Percy. He fell back against the pillows, putting his hands over his face. Through his fingers, he saw Will rummaging through his supplies, the back of his neck bright red with embarrassment from Percy's words. Great, Nico thought My old crush is trying to set me up. What are you playing at, Eros? Thinking about the god of love stirred up some dark thoughts in Nico, as he tried to focus on the conversation playing out in front of him.

"Oh, shut it, Perce. But seriously, Nico, how are you? Your arm is bandaged, did you get better stitches?" Jason asked, seeing Nico's arm. Nico took his hands away from his face and looked at his arm. He unwrapped the bandage. The stitches looked good. Will had done a good job. He rewrapped it. Looking at his upper arm, he noticed his usual black shirt had been replaced by a white, scrub shirt. Which meant... Nico flushed red at the thought. Will had taken his shirt off.

"Are you okay, Nico? You just got really red," Percy asked. At that Will's head snapped up, eyes dotted with worry. Through gritted teeth, Nico responded.

"I'm fine, thanks," But Will apparently wanted to decide that for himself.

"Do you have a fever, Nico? Too much nectar in your IV?" Will's hand reached out to touch Nico's forehead, but Nico flinched back. Will's hand hesitated, but he placed his hand on Nico's forehead. Nico felt like a child again. He rolled his eyes at being treated like a child but missed the warmth of Will's hand when he moved it from his forehead. Jason and Percy had stopped giving him a hard time, to make sure he did not have a fever.

"I'm fine!" Nico said forcefully.

"You don't have a fever, but you are freezing, Holy Hera, do you want another blanket?"

"I spend as much time with the dead as I do with the living, so I have a lower body temperature than most. And no, I don't need another blanket, I'm fine." Nico explained. Once Jason and Percy saw that Nico was acting normally, their faces broke out into smiles.

"Good to see you, acting normal, Neeks," Percy said, hoping to get a rise out of him.

"Don't call me Neeks!" Nico was getting angry.

"I'm just messing with you, Nico, lighten up." Nico rolled his eyes.

"If you keep rolling your eyes like that, they are going to get stuck," Jason joked. Nico is mentally face-palmed. Kill me now. Will came to his rescue.

"Okay, stop teasing my patient. It is only with my permission that you guys are even in here. Now, can you guys try not to strangle each other as I get one of my siblings to take the night shift with me?" Will looked at Jason and Percy. They both nodded.

"Yes sir, but haven't you been awake all day taking care of patients? Don't you need rest too, Will?" Nico saw Jason's brotherly side come out. Will looked at Jason.

"Thank you for your concern, but I won't rest until my patients are back to their normal strength," Nico watched as Will pulled out a tray full of food and ambrosia from the cabinet.

That must have been what he was working on while Jason and Percy had goaded Nico. He set the tray in front of Nico.

"Also, please make sure Nico eats a least a little of this and the ambrosia, while I'm gone. I'm going to refresh in the bathroom, and take a shower," Percy nodded. With one last glance at Nico, Will turned to leave the infirmary. From the door, a whispered shout came from the healer.

"And for god’s sake, keep quiet!" Percy and Jason both chuckled for a moment before they became focused on Nico. Percy grinned.

"So that's your type, huh?"

"Shut it, Jackson, I may be in a hospital bed, but I can annihilate you," he laughed.

"Yeah right! You couldn't beat me if you tried, Neeks,"

"Is that a challenge, kelp head?"

"Bring it on, Death Breath. You and me. Duel. As soon as you get out of here."

"You're on!" Nico accepted the challenge. Jason cleared his throat.

"Not to smash this budding bromance, but you have some food to eat Nico." Nico looked with dread at his meal. It was what looked like a chicken with mac-and-cheese and an apple. On the side, was a baggie of ambrosia, though it looked like a brownie. Nico did not really feel like eating, but he knew the two guards on either side of him would not let him skip it. Percy picked up the fork, with some mac-and-cheese on it.

"Here comes the cho-cho train, into the tunnel,"

"You have got to be kidding me," Nico said, and Percy took the opportunity to shove the fork into his mouth. By a reflex, Nico swallowed, though he cursed Percy for making him eat.

"Perce, stop it," With Jason's authoritative voice, Percy dropped the fork back onto Nico's plate. "Nico, are you okay?" Nico's face was scrunched up in a grimace and he thought he must have looked as if he were in pain.

"I'm fine okay? I just really do not want to eat. I'm not comfortable with that right now," Jason searched his eyes for a reason.

"I know, Nico, but you heard what Will said. And I have a feeling you do not wanna make that kid mad, so can you at least try to eat some food," Nico reluctantly, agreed.

"Fine, but only a little. And you two are not doctoring me," I have enough of that with Will around. Though he did not mind as much when it was Will.

Nico had managed to finish half of what was on his plate before pushing it away, not able to stomach any more food. His stomach was churning, and he prayed that he would not vomit. He swallowed down the ambrosia, which tasted like the pasta his mother used to cook for him and Bianca. Nico was surprised he even remembered what that tasted like. He had had his memories of Italy wiped away in the river Lethe, but Nico guessed they were slowly starting to come back.


	5. Nightmares

***Smiles lazily* How is y'all doing? Do you liken the story? Do not forget to vote and comment!**

**You like it, Neeks?**

Will's POV:

As he sang, Will noticed the son of Hades' breathing get slower and heavier. Will continued running his fingers along Nico's spine. Now Nico was usually uncomfortable with touching, but the hymn Will was singing cause people to relax, melting away any fears or worries. With the final verse, Nico finally fell asleep. Will's hand lingered on Nico's back. Finally, he removed his hand and checked Nico's pulse. Yup, he was dead to the world. Will sighed as he got up to check in with Kayla. He felt like he had accomplished something. He walked out of Nico's secluded corner, over to the desk Kayla was writing at, with a dim lamp giving her some light to write by. She looked up as he approached.

"Got him to sleep, did you?" Will nodded. "Huh, you need some yourself, Will. You've been working nonstop."

"I'll sleep when my patients are healed," he said, stubbornly. Kayla looked at him, exasperated, and stood up.

"What good are you going to be to your patients if you get sick? I can watch Nico while you get some sleep. I know how concerned you are about your little Death Boy," Kayla smirked. Will turned red but scowled at his sister.

"Oh, shut it." Kayla steered him to an open bed, across from Nico's.

"Sleep. Now. I'll wake you up if there are any problems."

"Please wake me up when your shift ends at 2. Please, Kayla?"

"Fine," she agreed. But Kayla had neglected to wake him up before, covering his shift as well.

"Pinky-promise?" He held out his finger.

"What are you, five?" Will pouted at her. She threw her hands up. "Fine, pinky-promise." With that, the deal was sealed, and Will kicked off his shoes, crawling into the mattress. As soon as his head hit the pillows, he was out like a light.

It seemed as soon as he went to sleep, he was being shaken awake.

"Wha-?" He asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He saw Kayla, standing above him, looking exhausted.

"It's 2 am, your shift." With that, she collapsed on the bed next to him and was snoring.

Will sat up and stretched looking at the clock. 2 am, on the nose. He swung his legs over the edge and pulled his shoes back on. The infirmary floor tended to be freezing at night. He pulled a blanket around his shoulders and grabbed his clipboard. He started his rounds around the infirmary. He readjusted the IV on one of the campers, who had managed to jostle it out of place. He jotted down some notes on his board. He checked the pulse of a tiny girl, dreaming away. He walked over to Nico's bed. What he saw shocked him. The son of Hades was shaking uncontrollably. His mouth was open in a silent scream. Tears were running down his face. The clipboard fell from Will's hand and clattered loudly on the floor, but Will did not care. He ran over to Nico's side. He started shaking him, trying to wake him up. But the boy was not responding.

"Nico?! Nico! Please, please wake up," He pleaded, but his cries were not answered, as the boy stayed asleep. He grabbed Nico's wrist, checking his pulse. His heart was racing and continued to get faster and faster. He pushed the hair out of Nico's eyes and felt the boy's forehead. It was burning up with a fever. He brushed the tears from Nico's face. He continued calling Nico's name, tears of frustration running down his cheeks. "Nico, please, PLEASE, wake up. Doctor's orders! Death Boy? Please wake up!" He called for Kayla. "Kayla, wake up! Please, I need you," He heard his sister stir at the sound of his urgent voice. She raced over to his side.

"What's wro- holy Hera, what's happening?" She asked, horror lining her face as she saw Nico.

"I don't know! I guess he's-he's having a night-nightmare, but he won't wake up and he won't stop shaking. What do we do?!" Tears were flooding down Will's face. He was scared for the son of Hades and felt powerless to help him. He and Kayla tried to restrain him, by holding down his arms, but Nico fought back, throwing them off of him. Nico was acting like Will and Kayla were attacking him.

"Kayla," Will said in a deadly serious voice. "Get. Clovis. Now. He needs to get Nico out of this dream," With that, Kayla ran out of the infirmary.

Will grabbed a sedative from the counter and stuck it into Nico's arm, but that only seemed to make it worse. Will started praying to his dad for help. Will grabbed Nico's wrist again, checking his pulse. It was weakening, almost as if the son of Hades were fading. Will's eyes shot to Nico's body to see what the problem was. Nico seemed to have trouble breathing. Will grabbed an oxygen mask from the cabinet, hooked it up, and placed it over Nico's nose and mouth, holding it there. Nico's breathing got steadier, but he was still shaking. Will was sobbing now, pleading with Nico to wake up.

"Please, Nico, please. Dad, help me, please-" His final plead was cut off by the door to the infirmary slamming open. He looked up to see Kayla dragging a half-conscious Clovis. Will gasped with relief as they rushed over to Nico's side. Clovis woke up enough to see Nico shaking.

"Oh gods, I've seen this before. Sometimes nightmares are so bad, they give demigods panic attacks. And judging by Nico's nightmares, it is no wonder he is having one," Will felt a surge of rage go through him.

"Clovis, can you please just get him out of it?!" Clovis looked surprised at the anger in Will's voice, though Will did not really care now.

"I can try, hold on," he closed his eyes and grabbed Nico's hand. Nico stopped shaking as violently, and Clovis started shaking as if they were experiencing the same thing. Clovis started breathing heavily, his face tightening with fear. Clovis screamed and pulled his hand back from Nico as if he had been burned. His eyes flew open, and they were filled with fear. He collapsed into a chair.

"Oh, my gods, the things I saw. It's... It's... How is Nico even okay?" Clovis had tears running down his face. "I'm sorry, I couldn't get him out, I couldn't even see him... All I saw... Oh, my gods-" The infirmary doors flew open again. Jason and Piper ran in, past the wide-eyed patients who had woken up because of the racket.

"We saw Kayla running in here with Clovis, and we thought it was Nico so we came as fast as we could," Jason said panting.

"Where were you two at 2 in the-" Kayla started, but Will cut her off.

"That doesn't matter now! I cannot get Nico to wake up and it is really scaring me. Clovis saw what he was seeing, and he could not wake him up. Piper, do you think you could use your charm speak?" She nodded, leaning over Nico.

"Wake up!" She said, forcefully. "Wake up, right now, Nico! You are only dreaming!"

Nico's eyes flew open and he sat up very quickly. Will sobbed with relief, still holding the mask to Nico's face as the son of Hades tried to get his breathing under control. He pushed Will's hand away and reached for the side table, with a shaking hand, as if looking for something. Tears continued to stream down Nico's face as he saw everyone looking at him. With a panicked expression. Nico leaped out of bed, barefoot, pushed past Piper and Jason, and ran out the infirmary doors.

"Nico, wait-" Jason and Will both have called after him. Will locked eyes with Jason and they both sprinted after the son of Hades. Will was cursing under his breath. He should have known Nico would run and tried to secure him. Jason and Will pushed open the door to the Big House and scanned the campgrounds for Nico. They saw him sprinting across the camp, towards the woods.

"Nico, STOP!" Will screamed. But he was ignored by the boy who kept running. Will did not know Nico even had that much stronger now. Jason flew up into the air, as Will ran after the son of Hades.

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Nico's POV:

Nico's eyes flew open, as he heard Piper commanding him to wake up. He sat up; aware the Will was holding an oxygen mask to his face. The nightmare he had just had been one of his worst memories from Tartarus. He pushed Will's hand away, and went to grab his razor blade, which he forgot, was not there. He noticed five pairs of concerned eyes looking at him, and he jumped out of bed, running out of the infirmary. He just really needed to be alone. He pushed out of the Big House, and out into the cold, nighttime air. As he ran, he looked for a place to hide. He locked his eyes onto the forest and dashed for the cover under the trees. He heard the doors of the Big House slam open, as Will's voice rang across the silent night.

"Nico, STOP!"

But Nico ignored him and kept running towards the wood. He was not about to go back to the infirmary, and he was not going to sleep anytime soon. He knew Jason had started flying, but Nico had safely gotten under the cover of the trees. He kept tripping over roots and branches, but he kept pushing through. He did not know for how long he ran, but when his heart was beating out of his chest, he stopped and took cover behind a giant tree. He got his breathing under control and listened for sounds of pursuit. He heard Will Solace calling his name, but he did not sound anywhere close to where Nico was. A shiver down Nico's neck, caused him to whip around. Jason had landed a few feet away but had not seen Nico.

"Nico? Are you there?" Jason whispered. "Please, we just want to help you." As Jason was turning, about to see Nico, Nico closed his eyes and melted into the shadows.


	6. Shadows

Will POV:

Will continued running through the forest, calling Nico's name, and looking for any trace of the son of Hades. Nico seemed to have just vanished. Will stopped, fearing that Nico had attempted to shadow jump, but Will knew that Nico knew better, and was probably too weakened and afraid to try. He continued his search.

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Daylight broke, and Will was still scouring the wood. He had not yet found Nico. This was his fault. He had not secured the son of Hades and had not made Nico feel safe where he was. He cursed himself, and leaned against a tree, giving himself a break. The leaves overhead rustled, and Jason Grace spilled onto the forest floor.

"I can't find him anywhere! It is like he just vanished. It's my fault he got away... I...I should have stopped him before he had gotten out the door," Jason was beating himself up about this. Will jumped to reassure him.

"If it is anyone's fault, it is actually mine. As his doctor, I should have secured him before he woke. But there's no use in playing the blame game, we just need to find Nico. Let us go."

"Will, stop, we need to report in with the others. Nico is not in the forest or anywhere close to camp... I'm fairly sure he shadow-traveled." Terror overtook the son of Apollo. No, he thought.

"No, no, no! If he did, gods, he probably killed himself. He was not strong enough! Oh, my gods, Jason! We have to find him!" Jason looked at Will, deadly serious.

"Where would he go?"

"The Underworld? His old home? I barely know Nico. We need to contact Hazel and Reyna. They probably know where he went." Will said. Jason brightened and spoke.

"That's a great idea! Let us get back to camp and tell Chiron, first though. Do you mind if I grab you so we can fly?" Will shook his head, wanting to get back to camp as soon as possible.

Jason grabbed Will by the upper arms and took off. Will and Jason soared high above the trees and over the camp. Camp activities were just getting started for the day. Jason started descending towards the Big House. As soon as Will's feet touched the ground, he sprinted inside, and into the rec room. Chiron had already assembled the head counselors of each cabin, and Coach Hedge was in there as well, eating ping-pong balls. Piper and Kayla must have woken up Chiron who then assembled the team because the campers in the rec room looked like they had been awake for a while. There is was a map of Camp Half-Blood and the surrounding areas spread over the table, which the head counselors were pouring over, pointing out areas here and there. Everyone looked up as Will and Jason entered the room.

"Finally, we were about to send out a search party for you two," Kayla said. "No luck?" Will shook his head and everyone in the room let out a collective sigh.

"We sent out search parties in the forest and around the campgrounds, but so far nobody has found Nico," Chiron said. "Kayla told us all what happened. It's not either of your faults than Nico ran."

"We think that Nico shadow-travelled," Everyone who had heard about Nico's travels, looked concerned, and Coach Hedge cursed. "And we think that Reyna or Hazel might have a better idea than us of where he would have gone. Jason thinks we should contact them," Will explained, sitting in a chair between Kayla, his second in command, and Connor Stoll.

"That is a good idea," Annabeth said, her hands locked with Percy's.

"Yeah, that's what I said. Annabeth, can I borrow your cellphone? I'm going to call Reyna with the number she gave me," Jason asked, reaching out his hand. Annabeth looked reluctant. "Please? It's an emergency."

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the phone, handing it to Jason. Jason then pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and dialed the number. He put the phone on speakerphone and set it in the middle of the ping-pong table. While it was ringing, he pulled up a chair next to Piper. It rang three times before Reyna answered. They could hear the Roman demigods in the background and the sounds of a car being driven.

"Annabeth? You better have a good reason for calling me... We literally just left your camp yesterd-"

"Reyna, Nico's missing," The next thing they all heard was tires screeching, screaming demigods, and the opening and slamming of a car door.

"What do you mean missing?!" Reyna's voice was venomous. Will cut in.

"I was with Nico and he had-er- a dream last night, and he ran off, and we searched all night, but we think he shadow-jumped."

"Maledicte team," Reyna cursed. "Weren't YOU supposed to be watching him? How did he get past you?" Reyna's voice sounded accusing as if it were Will's fault that Nico ran. Suddenly, Hazel's voice cut through.

"Reyna, what's going on? Who are you talking to?" Reyna put the phone on speaker, whispering to Hazel what was happening.

"We have looked everywhere on campgrounds for Nico. Any other ideas about where he could have gone?" Chiron asked.

"That's why we called Reyna and Hazel. Any idea where, besides camp, he could have shadow-traveled to?" Jason asked. Hazel sighed.

"Not any place he would feel comfortable, which after a nightmare he would want to feel safe. But if what Hedge and Reyna told me is true, Nico might not be alive if he truly had shadow-traveled-" Will cut her off.

"We really can't afford to think like that, Hazel."

"I know, I know, I was just thinking worst-case scenario. Look, Reyna and I want to be there for Nico. Frank too. We are shadow traveling over there now so we can help you look. We will be right over. As soon as Reyna finds someone to drive," With that, the call ended. Minutes later, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna materialized on the table. Hazel looked surprised to be standing on the ping-pong table.

"Oops, I had meant to land us on the porch. Gods, I need to sit down," Frank caught her before she fell off the table. Reyna jumped off the table, looking around at the assembled demigods. Frank helped Hazel off the table and nodded to Jason and Percy. Frank grabbed a piece of ambrosia from his bag and feed it to Hazel. After swallowing, she looked up, more alert.

"Okay, so where have you looked?" With that, she, Frank, and Reyna got debriefed by the counselors. They started making strategy maps of where to start looking and assigned different cabins to different areas. Suddenly, Connor Stoll spoke.

"Hey, I don't mean to quash your strategies or anything, but I think I have an idea where Nico might be." That got the attention of everyone. All heads turned towards the son of Hermes. "So Hazel here said that Nico would go somewhere he was most comfortable, and Nico probably wasn't thinking when he jumped. Honestly, for him, the most comfortable place, that would probably be at Camp. I know we all checked over the grounds, and Will said Nico disappeared in the forest, but did we miss the obvious? Did anyone check cabin 13? Someone probably opened the door and glanced in, but if Nico is a living shadow, could they have overlooked him?"

Silence fell over the room which was an answer to the question. Gods Will thought How could they be so stupid? He jumped up, grabbing a medical bag, and sprinted to the Hades Cabin. Jason and Percy closely followed with Reyna and Hazel and Kayla behind them. Will reached the cabin, and pounded on the door, screaming Nico's name, in case the son of Hades was just avoiding him. No answer. Will grabbed the handle and pushed. The door swung open. Will pushed through, scanning the dark cabin for the son of Hades. He carefully inspected the room- there! He saw the outline of Nico's body on the floor in a shadowy form. If anybody had just glanced in here, they would have missed him.


	7. Resting

Jason's POV:

Jason understood that Will had a job to do, but he was still not incredibly happy that he had gotten kicked out of the cabin. Thirty minutes passed. Percy and Annabeth grabbed hands as they sat on the front steps. Jason was pacing as Piper watched him. Reyna was leaning against a column, her eyes fixed on the door. Hazel was muttering under her breath, her eyes closed as Frank soothingly rubbed her back. An hour passed. Hedge came out muttering about needing more dirt packets and galloped over to the woods. Ten minutes later, he reentered the cabin. A half an hour passed. Chiron came out of the cabin, saying there was nothing else he could do. Will followed him, looking surprised to see them all standing there. He told them that they should get some rest as Nico was no better, no worse. He said that Nico would understand if they were not there when he woke up. Will looked worse for wear. He had bags under his eyes, and he looked thin as if he had not eaten all day. The usually sunny son of Apollo was drooping with exhaustion.

"Will, maybe you should get some sleep. You've been working all day and you spent the night looking for Nico," But Will just shook his head to Jason's statement.

"I'll rest when Nico wakes up. I am only out here because Hedge made me, but I am gonna go back in. Get some rest you guys, especially you Jason." Jason looked away pointedly. There was no way he was sleeping until Nico woke up. Will re-entered the cabin and left the seven with bated breath.

Another hour passed. Everyone had gone back to their cabins to get some food and some sleep except Jason and Reyna. Although Hazel had not wanted to, Frank had dragged her to the infirmary to get some sleep as her cabin was being used as a hospital.

Finally, after three long hours, the door swung open. Kayla was holding the foot of the stretcher, Will carrying the other. Nico looked better. It was as if Coach Hedge had been trying to plant Nico. He was covered in dirt packets. Jason and Reyna rushed forward to grab whatever medical equipment they could. Will thanked them and explained that Nico would be better monitored in the infirmary. The party walked across the camp, attracting the attention of many of the campers, who were shooed away by dryads and the head counselors.

They reached the infirmary doors. Hazel was sound asleep on a bed with Frank next to her, in a chair. He looked up when the doors had opened and rushed forward to help with anything he could. Will and Kayla brought Nico back to a separate room. As soon as they got everything rehooked and machines roaring to life, Will kicked everyone except Kayla out of the infirmary. Hedge told Jason that he had done everything he could, and it was up to Will, Apollo, and the Fates now. With that happy thought, he and Reyna started pacing the floor outside the infirmary.

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Will's POV:

Will was alone in the room with Nico. He was now fully responsible for Nico. Will did the final checks on the equipment. He readjusted the oxygen mask. He wiped off some of the excess dirt and attached a heart monitor stickers to Nico's chest. He checked that the IV was securely in place. When everything met up to Will's standards, he collapsed into a chair. It had taken a lot of time, energy, and patience to get Nico as stable as they did. Will had been on edge of freaking out the entire time but had managed to keep his cool. Nico had almost faded out of existence a couple of times, but they always brought him right back. Even so, Will could still feel the darkness inside Nico when he grabbed his hands. Will would have to work on expelling that as soon as Nico was strong enough. Will grabbed onto Nico's hand to check his levels and kept holding onto. Will got comfortable in his chair and settled his head against the mattress. He fell into a light sleep.

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Nico's POV:

Nico's eyes fluttered open, but almost immediately closed. He tried again. Everything was blurry around him and his head hurt like crazy. He felt a warm, calming presence in the room. He could not tell who it was, but he felt safe in the room he was in. His hand was being held. He saw a pitcher of water and tried to reach out for it. Some machines by his head started beeping like crazy, and Nico's hand fell as it was too far away to reach. He was about to try again when he fell back into a deep sleep.

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Will's POV:

Will's eyes fluttered open. He noticed that he was still grasping onto Nico's hand. He sat up feeling the mattress lining on his face. Yawning, Will looked towards the charts on Nico's heart monitor. He had a steady heart rate. Will yawned again, and accidentally brought Nico's hand to his face. He smiled and kissed the top of Nico's hand. He brought it down into his lap and began running circles into the son of Hades' hand. He began singing softly in Ancient Greek. He lost track of time as he just observed the boy. He was disturbed by a knocking at the door. Brandon, one of his siblings, popped his head in.

"Hey Will, Kayla sent me in here. She knows you will not go back to your cabin for sleep, but she wants you to go have dinner with everyone else okay. She says you must stay out of the infirmary for at least an hour. I'll keep watch over Nico and come straight to you if there are any problems, okay?" Will nodded, too tired to argue.

He got up as Brandon came into the room and took his chair. Will walked through the infirmary and out the doors, noticing Jason and Reyna outside the doors, nodding off on each other. They had been there the entire day. Will sighed and knelt next to them. He shook them awake. They both shot up, looking at Will. Will stood and started explaining.

"Nico is stable right now, so I am going to go get dinner. You two should come with me."

"Can we go see Nico?" Jason asked. Will shook his head.

"He is still too weak, and he is really deep under for sleep. He is not going to have any visitors for a while. I'm sorry," Reyna opened her mouth to say something, but Jason elbowed her to stop her.

"Okay, fine we will go to dinner with you, but we are coming straight back here with you," Will agreed and the trio set off for the dining pavilion.

Will sat down with his table as Jason and Reyna joined the five at the Poseidon table. Hazel and Frank had left the infirmary and were sitting with them, looking concerned. Will saw Jason muttering something to them, glancing back at Will. Will assumed they were talking about how they were barred from the infirmary. The seven at the table all glanced at Will, who blushed in embarrassment. He couldn't allow any visitors to Nico, he was still too weak. He cleared his throat and looked down at his siblings. They were in a disagreement about what genre of music was the best. Will got a cheeseburger and fries on his plate. He burned half the fries in the pit, asking his father for assistance healing Nico. He sat back down, and his siblings tried to include him in the conversation. Will was just too distracted worrying about Nico to participate. It took him thirty minutes to eat, and he knew Kayla would not let him in the infirmary. He sauntered over to his cabin to grab a spare set of clothes. He walked over to the showers and relaxed once he got under the warm water.

He took a twenty-minute shower and took ten minutes to get ready and dried off. He put on another scrub shirt and some comfortable shorts. He donned his shoes, and he headed back over the infirmary. On his way there, he saw Brandon sitting at the dining pavilion. Brandon was supposed to be watching over Nico. With an incredulous look on his face, Will walked over to his brother.

"Why aren't you in the infirmary? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I came out to get some food. Jason, Reyna, and Hazel are watching over Nico right now. But I didn't let in all of the seven- hey where are you going?"

Will had heard enough. He had told Jason and Reyna that they could not see Nico and they purposefully went against his request. Will was seething by the time he got to the Big House. He forced the door open and walked through the House. He rounded the corner and saw Annabeth, Piper, Percy, and Frank sitting there. When they heard his footsteps, they stood up about to ask Will something, but he shouldered through them and pushed the infirmary doors wide open. They slammed against the wall and Kayla jumped at the desk she was sitting at. She saw Will's face and shrunk down into her seat. Will was guessing that she had authorized the visitors, not knowing it was against what Will had wanted. He stormed up the door where Nico was and slammed it open. Reyna, Hazel, and Jason jumped as the door hit the wall. They looked in horror as Will entered the room.

"I specifically told you that Nico could not have any visitors. And what do you do? You sneak into his room without my permission." Will was breathing heavily but he spoke in a calm voice. "I know you are worried about him, I am too, but he really needs to heal. And I am his healer so let me do my JOB!" The trio looked ashamed, but Will was not done. "Get out," he said in a scary calm voice. "Now!" The trio bolted from the room, the door shutting behind them.

Will's anger melted away as he collapsed into his chair. He checked all of Nico's vitals and adjusted his mask. He replaced the IV bag with a new one and started peeling off the dried dirt packets. When he was done with that, he grabbed Nico's wrist, feeling for his pulse. He relaxed Nico's wrist still in his hand. He let Nico's steady pulse lull him into sleep.

A beeping woke Will up. He lifted his head off the bed and checked the time. Midnight. He looked towards the heart monitor. Nico's heart was racing. He looked down towards the son of Hades. He had started thrashing in his sleep. Another nightmare. Will leaped into action he tried shaking Nico awake. He was budging. Will prepared a sedative that would stop Nico's thrashing and wake him up and plunged it into Nico's arm. The sedative worked this time and Nico relaxed. Will threw the syringe away looking at Nico. He was surprised to see that Nico's eyes were open.

"Nico?"


	8. Truths

Nico's POV:

Nico went from one nightmare to another repeatedly. He dreamed of melting into a shadow, and then he dreamed of Tartarus. He dreamed of being trapped in the Underworld. Then of Bianca. He remembers having an intense dream about Tartarus when suddenly, a cool fluid flowed into him and whisked the dreams away. His eyes fluttered open and he found himself staring into a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Nico?" Will's musical voice asked. Nico groaned and felt a mask over his nose and mouth. He pushed it off, putting his hands over his face. "Are you okay? Do you feel okay? Do you remember-?" He held a hand up to stop the son of Apollo's rambling. It hurt his head.

"Water," he croaked out. "I need water."

Will leaped into action, grabbing the pitcher and a cup. He poured the water, some spilling over the edge, and came over to Nico. He set the water on the bedside table and helped Nico sit up. Nico groaned with pain as he sat up. He noticed he had an IV in and had stickers on his chest from the heart monitor. He was covered in Hedge's dirt packets again and was only in his boxers. He blushed as Will secured him, holding his shoulder as Nico's heart beat faster. Will grabbed the glass of water and tilted it down Nico's throat. Nico swallowed gratefully and grabbed Will's hand, telling him to stop. Will slowly took his hand down, and Nico let his hand fall with Will's. Their hands hit the mattress together, as Nico looked into Will's eyes. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Will broke the silence.

"How do you feel?" Nico smirked.

"Like I've been through hell and back."

"Well haven't you?" Will asked. Nico laughed bitterly.

"You could say I have," An awkward silence fell over the room. Will broke it yet again.

"So are you hungry? Or do you want to go back to sleep?" Nico shook his head.

"I'm not very hungry, and I definitely do not want to go to sleep. Can I- wash these dirt packets off?" Will nodded.

"Of course, let me draw a warm bath and we can get you in there soon," Will left the room and ducked into the bathroom attached to the room. Nico heard water starting to run as Will turned the faucet on. He was in there as the water heated up and emerged a couple of minutes later. Will had a towel in his hand and was wiping the excess water off his hands. He grinned at Nico and started talking.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Will, I'm oka-" Nico started hacking.

Will's face tightened with concern. He strode over to Nico and gripped his shoulders as he finished coughing. Nico had tried to flinch but had been coughing too hard. He handed Nico another glass of water, which he gratefully accepted. He took big gulps of water, and he finished the glass. Will took it from him and grabbed a stethoscope. He asked Nico to take a deep breath as he placed the cool pad on his back. Will moved the pad to Nico's chest and asked him to repeat his breathing. Nico took deep breaths, but they really hurt his chest. Will took the stethoscope out of his ears, a worried look on his face.

"Are you having trouble breathing?" Nico opened his mouth to disagree but started coughing again. Great. Will looked at him, with a small smile on his face. "Well, that's an answer to my question. I am going to get you started on a ventilator. It is smaller than the mask. It will help your breath." Nico nodded his approval as Will prepared his supplies.

Nico observed the son of Apollo. He looked exhausted. Nico wondered when the last time he had gotten an undisturbed sleep was. Nico knew that Will was his healer, but had he been with him the whole time. Nico blushed, feeling like that there were people way more important than him that Will could be helping. Still, Nico was glad that Will was helping to heal him.

Even though he still felt like crap, he really wanted to go back to his cabin and just be alone. He had refrained so far, but he knew that Will would bring up his nightmare and Nico's escape from the infirmary, and Nico dreaded talking about that. That was his personal business and he wanted to keep it that way. Will had disturbed Nico's thought process as he walked up with some tubes in his hand. He explained that he had to loop it around Nico's head. Nico stiffens at first but allowed Will to insert the nubbins inside his nostrils and tuck the tubes around his ears, tying in the back. Nico suddenly found it a lot easier to breathe. He took in a deep breath and Will smiled in relief. Will took out the IV and the heart monitor. He walked back into the bathroom to check the bathtub. The water was turned off and Will walked back into the room.

"The bath is ready. We are going to get all this dirt off you in the shower first. You ready?" Nico nodded, putting his feet on the floor.

He stood up, and almost crumbled to the floor. Will ran up to catch him. Nico stiffens as he felt Will's muscular arms wrap around him. Will secured him and helped him stand. Will grabbed the cart attached to the ventilator and helped Nico stumble to the bathroom. The bathroom was white and had a huge bathtub in the middle of it. Off to the side, there was a shower running. Both boys stumbled over to it. Nico walked into the shower, removed the ventilator, and held the wall as the hot water melted away the dirt packets. He stood under the hot water for about five minutes. He brushed the remaining dirt off. Will turned the water off and gave a towel to Nico. He helped Nico out of the shower and into the tub. Nico, thankfully, was still in his boxers. Carefully, Will helped Nico sink into the tub. Nico let out a sigh of relief as the warm water seeped into his skin. He closed his eyes and let his head rest against the edge of the tub. Will reinserted the ventilator while Nico relaxed. Will was messing around in the cabinets, but Nico was too comfortable to care. He felt Will standing to the side of him. He opened one eye as Will started talking.

"Here's some shampoo and conditioner and soap for when you want to get cleaned off. I'll just be in the other room if you need me." Will smiled and ducked out of the room. Nico settled more comfortably in the tub and felt himself drift into a light sleep.

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Will's POV:

Will had left Nico in the bathroom half an hour ago and he had not heard any noises. He reentered the bathroom to see Nico dozing in the tub. A small smile crept onto Will's features as he moved to get the boy out of the tub. Before he could, Nico grabbed his wrist. He looked towards Nico's face and saw the boy looking at him.

"Sorry, I thought you wanted to sleep, and I was going to get you to bed," Nico cleared his throat, and said he still needed to wash off. Will nodded his understanding and walked out of the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, he heard Nico's voice call for him. He peeked into the bathroom, his face red, tears of frustration leaking from his eyes. Will's face fell and walked over to Nico.

"What's wrong?" The son of Hades started whispering. Will had to lean in to hear him.

"I can't- I can't- I'm not strong enough to-" he trailed off. Will understood. He needed help washing his body. His heart broke yet again. He felt for Nico. He felt so weak that he needed help to wash.

"It's okay, we all need help sometimes." Will grabbed the shampoo as Nico sat up.

Will started massaging the shampoo into Nico's black locks. Nico was visibly tense at first but then relaxed as Will worked out any knots and tangles. Before he began conditioning, he grabbed the detachable showerhead. He turned it on and washed away any trace of suds from Nico's hair. Nico let out a sigh of relief. He sat up straighter as Will moved onto the conditioner. He scrubbed Nico's head and made sure to get out any grime. He soon finished conditioning and washed Nico's head again.


	9. Visitors

Nico's POV:

Sunlight streamed into the room and danced across Nico's eyelids. His eyes slid open to a sun-filled room. He felt a weight pressing down on his chest. It was not uncomfortable. Just the opposite. It was comforting and brought him solace. Solace. He looked down and saw a blond mop of hair. Will Solace. Nico blushed and heard the heart monitor by his head start to beep faster. He looked in wonder at the son of Apollo. Will should have hated him. Nico had yelled at him and told him all the horrible parts of himself. He had seen Nico's scars. He had watched Nico let Octavian kill himself. You are disgusting for letting Octavian kill himself he thought. And even more so for killing Bryce Lawrence- Stop Nico. Not here. Not now.

Nico sighed and put his hands over his face, trying to relax. He was surprised Will had not woken up. Then again, Will had been up for most of the night caring for Nico. Nico checked the clock. 7 am. Nico placed his hand on Will's head whispering Will's name. Will started to move, but only to nestle further into Nico's chest and his hand. Nico froze, wanting to throw Will off, but he refrained. The son of Apollo needed some sleep. Nico started playing with Will's hair. It was smooth and so golden. He smiled and then immediately felt ashamed of himself. He should not be thinking this about Will. Or any guy. It was unnatural as he started to remember his mother telling him many times. And the society he grew up in told him that too. Although his memories had been washed away in Lethe, as he got older, they started to come back. But no one was there so he knotted his fingers in Will's locks. Will sighed a content sigh in his self and rolled into Nico's hand. Nico smiled. He continued running his fingers through Will's hair and eventually lost track of time. Will started to stir awake. Nico's hand dropped and he pretended to be asleep. Will's head came off Nico's chest and he let out a whisper.

"Schist." Will have meant not to fall asleep, especially on his patient. The next thing Nico knew, Will's hand was under his sweater, checking the stickers from the heart monitors. Nico tensed, not appreciating Will's touch, and Will's hand froze. He gently removed it and checked Nico's pulse. Nico willed himself to relax. He felt his heart slow down and Will's hand was on his wrist. He held it there for a moment or two and then started tracing the fading scars littering his wrist.

"Oh, Nico, what am I going to do with you? Just let me in, let me help," Will pleaded, not aware that Nico was wide awake. Nico's hand dropped and Will removed the IV from his other arm. Nico suddenly heard footsteps and a knock at the door.

"C'mon in, quietly," Will said. Someone opened the door and Nico heard a voice issuing from the direction of the door.

"Morning, Will. Do you want to go down to the pavilion and grab some food for Nico? I'll keep the door open and keep an eye on him," a girl's voice said. Must be one of the Apollo kids. Will's voice sounded in the quiet room.

"Yeah, that would be great. Um, make sure none of the seven sneaks into here, okay? I don't want another fiasco like yesterday." Nico heard footsteps and the door closed.

He was alone. He let out a breath and continued pondering the son of Apollo. Will was being unbelievably nice to him. Why though? Because he liked Nico? Will would be disgusted and never want to see Nico again if he knew that he was gay. Nico could not let Will find out his secret. He calmed himself down as he heard the door to his room open. It was not Will's footsteps so it must have been one of his siblings. They started moving around in the cabinets, so Nico guessed that was cleaning up everything. He listened to the kid of Apollo cleaning everything up. About five minutes later, another pair of footsteps entered the room, and with them came Will's voice. 

"He's still asleep then?" He asked his sibling. They must have nodded. "Good he needs it, but I have to wake him up. He needs food more than sleep right now," Nico felt a tray being placed across his lap. He heard the second set of footsteps leaving the room, closing the door.

"Wake up, Nico," Will murmured, lightly shaking Nico awake. Nico started moving as if he was just waking up. His eyes fluttered open to see Will's blue orbs centimeters away. The son of Apollo's face broke out into a huge grin.

"Good morning, Death Boy."

"Don't call me that!" Nico said, sitting up and looking at the tray in front of him.

"Okay, fine. Good morning, Sunshine!" Nico growled at him, and Will laughed which sent the butterflies in Nico's stomach flying. He pushed them down and looked at his plate. It was filled with eggs, some toast, and bacon as well as a glass of orange juice. And of course, a tiny square of ambrosia. "There you go, breakfast!" Will said, excitedly. "Eat up! You have to get some meat on those bones!" Nico looked at the food in disgust.

He really did not want to eat. He dreaded eating and was never very hungry. But to satisfy Will, he took a bite of the eggs. He swallowed them, grimacing at the feel of food down his throat. Will's face lit up with a concern, but Nico waved him off, saying he had just swallowed weirdly. Will smiled.

"Okay good, now you aren't doing anything until you finish everything on your plate. Maybe, then, you can have some visitors." Nico dreaded finishing his whole plate. There was a lot of food on the plate. He would not be able to finish it even if he had full strength. He took another bite, which he struggled to swallow down. He managed that and finished the rest of the scrambled eggs.

He was so full, but Will was pressing him to finish the plate. With dread, he bit into the bacon. He had not had meat in forever. And that was the breaking point. The food started making its way back up his throat. He pushed past Will and ran into the bathroom. He managed to make it to the toilet just in time. He was hunched over the toilet as he expelled all the contents of his stomach. When he finally stopped, he noticed a hand rubbing his back. Will. Will had watched him spill his guts out. Gross. Nico sat up, wiping off his chin. He looked at Will who handed him a glass of water.

"Gods, Nico, I'm so sorry. I did not know that you could not handle it. I'm so sorry." Nico waved him away, saying it was fine. But it was not. Nico felt awful. He wished he had not eaten. He felt sick to his stomach now and could not even think about eating without his throat and stomach protesting. He shakily stood and made his way back to his bed. He sunk into it and Will followed him back into the room. Nico would not meet Will's eyes.

"Nico, I am sorry about that. Now I know you do not want to, but could you please at least eat your toast. You need to have something in your stomach if we are to give you any more ambrosia," Nico didn't even know if he could stomach ambrosia. He nodded meekly. Will smiled a small smile. "Okay, good. You eat your toast, and I will get your friends. They have been outside all morning." Will walked outside the room. He shut the door.

As Nico heard his footstep receding, he stood up. He grabbed the toast and ripped three-fourths of it off. He needed it to look like he had eaten some of it, not just thrown it away. He placed a fourth of toast on his plate and took the ambrosia out of the bag. He took the remaining toast and ambrosia and wrapped them in toilet paper. He threw it in the trash and walked back to his bed. He grabbed the orange juice and pour it down the sink drain. He climbed back into bed, waiting for his friends to arrive.

Two minutes later, he heard a thundering of footsteps heading to his door. He braced himself as eight demigods spilled into the room. Nico was surprised to see Reyna, Frank, and Hazel. Then again, if he really had almost destroyed himself shadow traveling, he was not surprised they had shown up. Percy and Annabeth were holding hands, as were Jason and Piper. Will came up in the back, his arms crossed as if regretting his decision to let everyone in the room. There was a presence missing and everyone felt it. Leo. Nico could feel the sadness emulating from the group. Jason and Piper looked crushed, though it was hidden with their smiles. Percy and Annabeth were already broken from Tartarus, Leo's death adding insult to injury. Hazel and Frank just looked as if it was their fault because they had let Leo do it. But they hid it well, though Nico was an expert at reading people. Now Reyna did not look too upset, as she had lost so many good soldiers before, she had stopped keeping count. Nico promised himself that once he was free of this hell, he would be in the Underworld, searching for Leo. Nico looked at Will, who was standing in the doorway, looking awkward. He had a look on his face and a feeling emulating from him. A look and feel that Nico had mastered over the years. Not feeling part of something. Alone. Excluded.

Nico's heart went out to him and he was about to say something when he found himself looking into Reyna's concerned eyes. "Hey, Nico, you are doing okay?" Nico nodded.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Good, then I won't feel bad about doing this," Nico felt a hand slap across his face. "That's what you get for freaking shadow jumping when you are not strong enough, you imbecile! What in Hades name were you thinking?" Reyna's slap left Nico's face stinging. He brought his hand to his face, rubbing it indignantly, giving Reyna a death glare. She crossed her arms over her chest and met his death glare with a scorching look on her features. Nico looked to Jason for aid.

"Hey man, don't look at me. Reyna's right! You were pretty idiotic to do that," Nico looked towards Will.

"I would have slapped you too, but it's against my policy to beat up a patient. Reyna had every right to do that. You scared the living schist out of all of us! You deserve worse than a slap for disappearing on us like that." Will stated calmly. Nico felt betrayed and collapsed against his pillows. Me against the world. He groaned and sat back up. Jason's eyes were on him.

"You never answered Reyna's question. What the hell were you thinking, shadow traveling like that when you were not strong enough? You could have melted into a shadow." The son of Jupiter asked. Jason looked more worried for Nico than usual and he wondered why. What if Will had told him about his scars? Nico calmed himself down, by assuring himself that Will would not betray his trust and believing Will would have some patient-confidentiality.

"If you guys are just here to interrogate me, you can leave," Jason was not buying it.

"Answer the question, Nico!" Nico was most definitely not going to answer the question. Even if he did, he would not answer truthfully. He turned away from Jason, not replying. Jason sighed.

"You'll eventually tell me," Fat chance of that, Sparky, Nico thought.

"Anyway, we came to check on you. How are you, honestly?" Hazel asked, grabbing her brother's hand. Nico did not flinch, only because it was Hazel.

"I'm fine," Will scoffed. The seven in the room turned to look at him. "Oh, don't lie, Nico, you feel awful and you know it!"

"I'm just tired, that's all," Nico said, giving Will a look. Will have understood because he kept his mouth shut. Nico was good with looks like that. He could get his point across simply fine. The rest of the seven looked back at him. They could tell he was lying, but they did not press it. They started talking about what had happened at camp the past couple of days and the activities for the rest of the day. They did all the talking so Nico just relaxed.


	10. Space

Will's POV:

Will watched as the seven demigods interacted with Nico. He could have sworn a small smile on the son of Hades face a couple of times. I Will checked the time. It was already 9. Will had woken up at 8 and gotten food into Nico by 8:15. Nico's guest had already been in there for 45 minutes. Well, it was time for Will to get back to work. He ducked into the bathroom to clean it. He closed the door behind him, but soon heard it open and close again. He turned to see Jason standing in the bathroom.

"Hey Will, I know we talked last night, but how is Nico? Did he have any nightmares? Did he eat something?" Will sighed, sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

"He slept through the night and the sleeping draught kept the nightmares away. He slept fine last night. And this morning, well he ate something, but it all came up again. How much did he eat on the Argo II?"

"Not much, I mean he did survive for a week just on pomegranate seeds so his stomach must have shrunk, but he barely ate any afterward."

"Yeah, I was worried about that. I made him eat toast and ambrosia, but if what you tell me is true and I know Nico..." Will walked over to the garbage can. Lo and behold. "Yep, his food is in here. He is not eating at all. And now he's avoided eating ambrosia..." Will did not finish the thought. Nico really needed food and ambrosia. If Nico was now refusing the treatment of ambrosia... Did Nico even want to be healed? Jason shook his head sadly.

"We gotta make sure he eats lunch; do you think he could eat with us in the Mess Hall? Just for an hour? We will have him right back here! He just might be more comfortable eating out there," Will nodded.

"Just make sure he eats and doesn't slip away. I have a feeling if he gets away, he won't want to come back to the infirmary," Jason nodded, a grin spreading on his features.

"No, of course not. Great! Okay, I better get out before the others wonder where I am. Thanks, Will!" With that, Jason opened and closed the door again.

Will looked at the crumpled food in his hands. Oh, Nico he thought What am I going to do with you? Will finished cleaning the bathroom and slipped out. The group was still joking around with Nico, who looked a bit overwhelmed. Will interrupted.

"Hey guys, so I know you want to keep visiting, but Nico needs his space. You guys can come around noon and drag him to lunch so long as he returns by two." Everyone agreed, and then all filed out, bidding farewell to Nico. Nico looked relieved to find the room empty again. "And you are going to lunch, Nico, I saw where your breakfast ended up." Nico turned red and looked down at the mattress. "Do you even want to get better? Or do you want to be healed? Because you are making it hard for yourself if you keep refusing food and throwing out the medicine, I give you."

Nico whispered something under his breath, but it was in Italian. "Sono troppo rotto per ottenere una migliore e anche da solo," _("I'm too broke to get better and even alone,")_

Will was not playing around. "What did you say, Nico?" The son of Hades cleared his throat. Will guessed Nico had not expected to hear him, but Will had super sensitive hearing being a son of Apollo.

"I said, of course, why wouldn't I want to get better?" Will had a feeling that is not what the boy had said, but he let it drop, seeing the look on Nico's face.

"Okay, fine, then what do you want to do? Eat, sleep?"

"Can I just be left alone? I really just need some space from people for now." Will sighed, not wanting to let the boy out of his sight, considering the scars on his body, but he knew that if he pushed his luck, Nico would run.

"Fine, but you have to promise not to run off or do anything stupid," Nico nodded and Will started to walk out of the room. "Just call me if you need anything." With a final look at him, Will shut the door.

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It was ten o'clock. He was returning to the infirmary. Will had spent the day, in and out of the infirmary. He had slept in his cabin from 9:30 till 12 and had checked Nico before he went to lunch. He worked in the infirmary until Nico returned at two. With hushed tones, Jason informed that Nico had eaten a little, but while everyone's backs were turned (except Jason's, who had caught him) pushed half his plate into the fire as an offering to his father. Will had sighed, saying he would put another IV into Nico. Nico could not spend the rest of his life getting food from a tube though.

For the rest of the day, Nico requested to be alone, and Will obliged, checking in on Nico from time to time. Every time, Nico had been staring off into space, looking at nothing. Will wondered what was going through Nico's mind all this time. He had managed to get some food from dinner into Nico and a little bit of unicorn draught. Will had taken the night off, leaving Kayla in charge of Nico, to go to the camp sing-along. He was currently returning to the infirmary, his mind on Nico.

Before he realized it, he had pushed through the doors. Kayla saw him, and with a yawn, bid him goodnight as she returned to the cabins. Will was in charge. But, Nico was the only patient. Nico, depending on his condition, would be released tomorrow. Will would be sad to see the son of Hades go, but he made a vow to keep talking to him. He had grown fond of Nico and was nursing a crush that he had had on him since the Titan War. With these thoughts, he walked into Nico's room. Nico was still awake. He looked up as Will approached.

"You should get some sleep," Will stated, adjusting Nico's pillows. Nico shifted away from him. Will sat down in his chair.

"You should take your own advice, Solace."

"I'll sleep when you do, Death Boy."

"Don't call me that!"

"Okay, Sunshine."

"Will you shut up if I go to sleep?"

"Perhaps."

"Fine, goodnight Solace."

"Goodnight, di Angelo," Nico flipped over so he was lying on his stomach, facing away from Will. After ten minutes of listening to his breathing, Will knew Nico was still wide awake. "Can't sleep?"

"Shut up, Solace. I don't want to sleep."

"Do you want a sleeping draught?"

"No."

"Nico, you need sleep."

"No, I don't, I'll be fine," Will mentally cursed. He needed to get Nico to sleep. He carefully placed his hand on Nico's back. Nico protested, fidgeting away, but Will held him there, saying he was only trying to help, Nico relaxed, letting Will rub circles into his spine. This calmed the son of Hades down to where he could fall into sleep. Will shortly followed.

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Will suddenly woke up. He looked at the clock. 2 am. He did not know why, but he had been pulled out of his dream. He tried to remember. The last thing he remembered was Clovis. He was talking about pulling Will off course because of Nico... Nico! He looked down at Nico and saw that he was shaking again. Memories flooded back as he recalled his dream. He had been dreaming about performing on a Broadway stage when suddenly he was in the Hypnos cabin. He was having tea with Clovis who explained he had pulled him into his dream. He talked about how Will needed to wake up because Nico was having a nightmare and needed to be woken up before he hurt himself. Will had then jolted awake. Nico was shaking and tears were streaming down his face again. Oh, Gods, not again, please let me be able to wake him up he prayed. His hands started glowing as he began to plead with Nico and try to get him out of the dream.


	11. Tartarus

Nico's POV:

Nico had fallen asleep and was he now regretting it. He had ended up in Tartarus. In a memory.

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He was running on the body of the primordial being, being chased by some unknown creature. He did not know what it was, but he was terrified. He came to the edge of the river. He couldn't jump across. He turned to face the monster, he drew his Stygian Iron sword out. He did not see it, but a figure came up to the side of him. He swung around to face... Bianca? His sword point fell into the ground which was the flesh of Tartarus.

"Bianca, mia Sorella?" (my sister) Bianca smiled wickedly.

"Going to kill me, fratellino. Again?" _(little brother)_ Nico gasped.

" I didn't kill you, I swear." Bianca threw her head back and laughed.

"Haha, you know I died, fratellino, getting you a stupid Mythomagic figurine. I died because of the stupid game you played as a kid. You let me die. Your own stupid actions killed me," _(little brother)_ Nico fell to his knees.

"No, please, mia Sorella, I didn't ask you to... Percy said he would keep you safe, he promised..." _(my sister)_ He was cut off.

"Percy, Percy, Percy, he is all you think about huh? Well, that is absolutely-" Bianca changed into another form. One Nico remembered from a vision and vaguely from a memory. "-disgusting! Do you hear me, stupid ragazzo? You are loving another man. It is unspeakable. You should be thrown into the mental hospital, because you are sick, assolutamente malato." _(stupid boy?) (absolutely sick)_ Nico was sobbing.

"Mama, per favore, I don't love Percy anymore. I'm not gay-" _(Mama, please)_

"Liar! You still have feelings for the boy! You should be punished, voi ragazzo malvagio _(evil boy)._ You should be-" his mother changed into someone worse. His father. "-killed! I am ashamed to have you as a son. You are a DISGRACE. You are weak. You should not be the Ghost King. You can't wield such power," Nico was curled up on the floor, tearing flowing.

"Father, please..." Hades raised his staff as if to hit him. Nico shielded himself as Hades continued yelling.

"I am disgusted. My own son weeping on the floor. Pathetic. Bianca was so much better. But she is gone now because YOU KILLED HER. You are alone, just like you should be. You are an outcast, a freak. No friends, no family, no place to call your-" the figure changed, and Nico knew this was a nightmare because, at this point when it had actually happened, Nico founded the strength to destroy the monster. But Nico was trapped in a nightmare. The figure spilled into two and changed. "-home," Nico gasped. It was Jason and Will.

"No..."

"Oh yes, it is us," they said in unison. Nico was sobbing and shaking. Jason opened his mouth.

"You really believe Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter is your home? Please! You do not belong in either. You are an outcast, a freak-" 

"-who kills people. I watched you murder Octavian. And he, in turn, killed Leo." Will finished a cruel smile on his face. Nico pleaded but Jason continued.

"You also killed Bryce Lawrence. Oh yes, Reyna told me all about that. She is terrified of you," his form briefly flashes to Reyna before flashing back to Jason. Nico was filled with fear.

"Oh, and Jason told me that you are gay. That is disgusting. I cannot believe you think you have a chance with me. I am too good for you. I mean have you seen yourself. Have you seen the scars on your wrists and thighs? You are so weak you must cut yourself. As soon as you can, you should just kill yourself." Nico screamed and Will turned into the goddess Akhlys. Her bony fingers wrapped around Nico's arm.


	12. Insecurities

Will's POV:

Will was having a bad day. First, he was woken up to find his patient missing. Second, he spent the day searching for a said patient, not knowing if Nico was injured, or worse, dead. Third, his search for Nico was interrupted by a bad archery injury which required his expertise. When Jason told him to leave Nico to him and to get his own medical supplies, Will was a little angry. He stormed down to the infirmary. He grabbed a sedative, to relax Nico, and some other medical equipment. He wrapped his stethoscope around his neck and grabbed his medical bag. He jogged back to Nico's cabin. He walked up the stairs to find Jason pounding on Nico's door. Uh oh. Nico had barricaded himself in his cabin. Will cursed and Jason locked eyes with him. Will could hear Nico crying through the door.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Will asked in a scary calm voice. Jason looked stressed and worried.

"We were talking about his personal life and he... he just stormed into his cabin and locked the door. I can't get it open."

"What about his personal life, Jason? I need to know what triggered him," Jason looked terrified.

"Will, I can't tell you. It's Nico's business and he would kill me if he knew I told you..."

"I don't care, Jason! If you do not tell me, it could kill Nico, or he could kill himself!" The last four words rang out. The two boys were silent as the full impact of the words sunk in.

"Will, I can't, I made a promise!"

"And I made a promise to heal Nico and you are making that difficult!" Will said forcefully. Jason was rendered speechless. "Fine, don't tell me. Just get out of here. Nico is obviously done talking to you, but maybe, just maybe he will talk to me."

Jason opened his mouth to protest, they must have thought better of it because he walked away. Will dropped his bag and put his hand to the door.

"Nico," he said, using low tones. "Please open up. I am not going to question you or judge you, please, I just want to help. I just want to know that you are okay." His head leaned against the door. The sobs started lessening as if listening to Will's words. Will continued murmuring encouragement for Nico to open the door.

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Eventually, after the sun had set, Will heard tentative footsteps. He heard the unlocking of the lock. Will put his hand to the door handle and slowly turned it. The door slowly opened. Will grabbed his bag and pushed his way into the room.

The room was dark, and Will could barely see the outline of Nico against his black covers. He shut the door behind him. He snapped his fingers and Greek Fire, contained in torches, flared up around the room. Nico's face was lit up with a greenish glow. He flinched from the light and tried to bury himself in his covers.

Will had caught a glimpse of his face. It was streaked with tears and he had bags under his eyes. He looked unnaturally pale and his skin looked gaunt because of his refusal to eat. Will slowly walked over to where the son of Hades was buried under the covers. He knelt and pulled the covers back. Nico's face was in his pillows. Will tentatively put his hand on Nico's back. Nico flinched away, but Will did not move his hand.

Eventually, Nico turned his face from out of the pillow. He carefully sat up. Will did not move, not wanting to frighten the boy. Nico reached out to Will, seeking comfort. Will took Nico's hands. He felt a razor grasped in one of his hands. With a sigh, he removed the razor and put it in his bag. Will retook his hands to feel how much residual darkness was left. Will almost jumped at the amount Nico had in him. It was way worse than it had been the night before. Will shut his eyes and began concentrating on every piece of healing magic he knew. He heard Nico gasp as Will's hands lit up. He coaxed the darkness out of Nico and into his own hands. He kept his focus until almost all the darkness was out of Nico. He then took the darkness that he had received and squeezed his eyes. He felt the blessing of Apollo as the darkness evaporated, overpowered by the sunlight from within Will and lent by his father. Will and Nico both relaxed as the darkness was expelled.


	13. Mistakes

Nico's POV:

Nico watched as Will stormed out of the dining hall. He felt a twinge of guilt for what he had said to Will. He had not meant a word of it, but he was so frustrated with Will for trying to shield him and saying he was too weak. Although he knew that Will only meant he was still recovering and that he was not strong enough because he was healing from his injuries, it felt like he had meant that Nico was not strong enough in any way, mental or physical. He had only said those words to get the boy to leave him alone. And it worked. And Nico was upset that it worked. Then he was mad that he was upset.

Nico just wanted to be alone, by himself, but he really enjoyed Will's presence. Which annoyed Nico even disgusted him because that is what his society had told him. That he was disgusting and sick for being the way he was. Nico needed to push Will away. In fact, Nico needed to push everyone away. They would end up leaving or hurting him anyway. He would eventually hurt the ones who stayed, and he wanted to minimize the injuries. Nico did not deserve any of these people. They were too good, too pure for him. They were better off without him. They would be better off if he was dead. Nico told himself that once he found Leo wherever in the world or the Underworld he was and brought him back to Camp Half-Blood, he would be gone forever. Leo would take his place, and no one would notice that the son of Hades had faded away. Or even that he had died. As he made that plan in his head, he finally noticed what was going on around him. His deep thoughts were broken through by Hazel, calmly admonishing him.

"- was that Nico? Are you even listening to me? Will save your life and you repay him by saying that? What's gotten into you?" Nico would not meet her eyes and he felt hers and the states of the six other demigods at the table. He merely shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't like being told what to do."

"Well, that is no reason to treat Will like that! He cares about you and you completely turned him away."

"I prefer to be alone."

"Nico..."

"No. I said what I said, and I can't take it back. Does someone want to go to sword training with me or do I have to go by myself?" Nico asked. Jason exchanged a look with Percy and spoke with a wary voice as if handling a bomb about to go off.

"Nico, I know you want to, but Will told you not to go to sword fighting. I mean, he is your healer and knows what is best for you. I think you should just rest-"

"Okay, well that answers my question. If you guys need me, I'll be in the arena," Nico got up and walked away from the table, turning his back on his small group of friends. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced back to see Reyna hurrying after him. Great, he thought It is going to be harder than I thought to push them all away. He kept walking, increasing his pace, to try and get away from Reyna, but she caught up easily.

"Mind if I join you?" she asked. Nico scoffed.

"Yes."

"Good." And she kept walking with him.

"Did Jason send you?" Nico asked, venomously.

"First off, Grace does not send me anywhere, I follow my own rules. Secondly, no, I just wanted to spend time with you because I will be leaving soon, is that a problem?" Nico shrugged.

"Are you here to lecture me about Will? Because if you are, I'm really not in the mood and you can walk away now."

"No, I am not here to lecture you. Although what you said was stupid, it is your decision what you say to people. And I realize you are not one to apologize, so what would be the point of asking you to do something you won't do?" Nico considered this. "Also, what's the point of telling you not to do something when you are so obviously going to do it? So instead of arguing with you, I decided to go to training with you to make sure you don't hurt yourself." Nico scowled. He and Reyna stopped. They had arrived at the arena, which was empty. They entered the arena and drew their swords. They started moving in a circle, daring the other to strike first.

"I promise, I'll go easy on you," Nico taunted as he beckoned for Reyna to attack. Something flashed in her eyes and before he realized it, she was standing over him, her sword at his throat, only his sword preventing hers from decapitating him. If it had not been for his reflexes, he would have been cut in half. She grinned.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. But maybe I should go easy on you, Death Breath," he pushed her sword away, and she stumbled back.

"Yeah, right. Enough games. Let us fight. After you." Nico said, preparing himself.

"It would be my honor," with that, she struck again, and the sounds of swords clashing filled the arena.

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About six hours later, Nico collapsed onto his bed. He and Reyna had sparred in the arena for about three hours. Then, they had taken a break and tried their luck on the rock-climbing wall. They had done just about every camp activity possible. Although Nico was hot, sweaty, burned, cut, and bruised, he had never felt better. It felt so good to not be cooped up all day and felt good to put his energy into something. Nico felt as though he had put a little too much energy. Will was right to say he probably was not strong enough. The whole day, Nico had been close to passing out, and he was running on mostly adrenaline. Now, even though he was lying down, he felt the aches and bruises weakening him. He may or may not have accidentally caused the stitches to break on his arm, but there was no way he was going to tell Will that. He just wrapped the bandage tighter, praying the blood would not show.

He continued to get his breathing under control as he heard the conch for dinner. It was dinner time, but there was no way Nico was leaving his cabin. There was no way he would be going down to eat. He might be a little hungry, but he refused to eat in the pavilion. He reached out for his bedside table and grabbed an energy bar. He ate half of it and was full. He put it back on the table and his hand brushed his razor blade.

*(self- harm starts here)*

Memories flooded into his head as he remembered some of the time, he had used it. He recalled the blood trickling down his legs, the red seeping his arms. Without realizing it, he has gripped the razor blade so hard, that it had cut into his hand. He looked down surprised to see blood running down his hand. It reminded him of the Phlegethon. How it curled around the banks of Tartarus. How it flowed. He recalled the firewater searing down his throat, bringing the only relief in all of Tartarus. Then he remembered all the monsters he had fought along the banks of the river. He started shaking as a panic attack threatened to take over. He methodically started raising the blade and running it across the skin on his thighs. The pain brought him back to reality. He continued etching into his skin until all traces of the memory and the panic attack faded away.


	14. Transfusion

Will's POV:

He was not going to lie. Nico had really hurt him. He had spent the night crying, almost had a relapse, and got barely any sleep. He had been quite concerned that Nico had broken his stitches, but he was still very hurt. But his hurt did not stop him from rushing to help Nico. He had just finished up breakfast alone when Jason Grace came running up to him. Jason looked fearful and Will noticed there was blood on Jason's hands and arms. His eyes widened in horror as Jason began talking. Where has the blood come from?

"Will, help. Hades cabin. Nico-" he didn't need to say anymore.

Will sprinted after him. He first stopped at his cabin to grab some supplies. He had a feeling he knew what Nico had done. He cursed under his breath. He should have known to keep better surveillance of the son of Hades. When he had been in there, he had collected some of the visible razors, but he knew Nico had hidden a lot of them. He reached his cabin door and began grabbing random supplies and throwing them in his bag. He yelled at Jason to go back to Nico.

He finished and sprinted past his cabin mates. He arrived at cabin 13 within seconds and found the door was open. He shut it behind him and ran to the bathroom. He gasped at the scene he walked into. There was broken glass from the mirror strewn around the floor. There were a couple of small puddles of blood. In the middle of the bathroom, Jason had Nico in his arms. Nico's eyes were closed, and he looked deathly pale. His eyes went to Nico's wrists. There did not appear to be any blood coming from them. Blood had dried on his hands and arms. His eyes fell to Nico's thighs. He gasped. The white, usually pale skin was soaked with blood. Jagged cuts and gashes were etched into the skin. And they were deep. Will fell to his knees, ignoring the broken mirror cutting into his skin. He barked an order for Jason to get a clean, wet towel. It was given to him, and Will began wiping the blood away. But it was still coming out. He pulled out bandages from his bag. He pressed down on Nico's thighs to try and staunch the bleeding. As he applied pressure, he looked at Jason.

"Did-" he squeaked. He was scared to ask the question, knowing the answer, but he had to ask. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Who- did he do this to himself?" Jason nodded, solemnly, tears coming to his eyes.

"I- I walked in on- on him doing it- and I had to pull- to pull the shard of glass from his hand. He made me promise not to tell you, or anyone. But Will," Jason looked up in anguish. "I had to. He would not- he would not stop bleeding and I did not know what to do. I don't know why he thinks he needs to do this." The son of Jupiter whispered. "We are here for him. Why won't he talk to us?" Nico had soaked through the bandage. Will grabbed another one and applied it to Nico's leg. He secured it before answering.

"He's scared? He thinks we will judge him or leave him, or I don't know!" Will bit his lip in frustration. "But I do know one thing. He will not be facing this alone anymore. So, help me if I must be with him twenty-four seven, then I will do it if it prevents from hurting himself." The promise rang out in the Hades cabin. Will was serious. He cared too much to continue letting Nico struggling by himself.

After five more bandages, and a half an hour later, the bleeding finally slowed. Will assessed Nico. He did not appear to have any other injuries and he had not appeared to have slept or eaten the past few days. The most pressing concern was that Nico had lost so much blood. He needed more blood. Now. If he was going to stay alive. That meant Will needed a blood donation. And fast. He looked at Jason.

"Nico has lost a dangerous amount of blood and he needs more, now. I need a blood donation." Jason nodded. "I don't know what blood type he is, but I can just give him type O, the universal donor. I need you to go to the infirmary and get a blood bag for-" He was interrupted by Jason holding his arm out. Will looked at him, quizzically. His eyes widened as he realized what Jason was suggesting.

"Jason, no, I am not going to ask you to donate your blood. It's too much to-"

"I want to. You said he needed blood fast. Let me donate my own to help him. I want to help him." Jason looked defiant. Will was going to try to stop him. Blood transfusions were dangerous if the blood types did not match. He opened his mouth to protest, but Jason continued. "No, I want to do this. I do not care about the risks. I would do anything for Nico!" Will threw his hands up in protest. He thought about getting a sibling to help him, but he assumed that Nico did not want anyone else to know about his secret. He took inventory.

"Okay, we can't move Nico, it is too risky. I need you to go get the heart monitor, oxygen mask, and IV. I need to stay here and start stitching Nico up. Here," he shoved an energy bar into Jason's hand. "Get your strength up because Nico needs a lot of blood. Get back with the heart monitor, oxygen mask, and IV as soon as possible. Tell Kayla, she will be in the infirmary, what you need, and say that Will is doing a practice run. Ask her what Nico's and your blood types are. She will understand. Tell no one else what you are doing. If anyone asks, ignore them. Go!"

Jason sprang out of the bathroom. The door opened and slammed shut. Will turned back to Nico. He needed medical attention, fast. He poured some unicorn draught down Nico's throat, trying to get some sort of medicine into his body. He reflexively swallowed and Will dropped the empty bottle down. Will wiped the remaining blood off of Nico's thighs and began meticulously stitching up the wounds. There were four major gashes and six or seven smaller ones. He stitched and wiped, stitched, and wiped. He did not look up until he pulled through the final stitch.

Jason was standing there, and Will had not noticed him come in. He asked Nico's blood type. A negative. He asked Jason's blood type. O negative. Even though that was the universal donor, this was going to be risky. He asked how long he had been there. Jason said thirty minutes. Crap Will thought Nico is not going to make it unless he gets blood now.

He grabbed the monitor from Jason and attached it to Nico's chest. Nico's heartbeat was weakening. He sat Jason down on a chair he pulled from Nico's cabin and told Jason to make a fist. He obliged and Will inserted the IV. Jason gasped as blood started filling the tube. Carefully, but quickly he inserted the other end of the IV into Nico. Will closed his eyes and prayed, hoping the transfusion would work. The heart monitor started beeping like crazy. Nico was flat-lining.

His eyes flew open. He began CPR and prayed to his father that Nico would recover. 1-2-3 Please father, please, let it work. He blew air into Nico's lungs. 1-2-3. Please father, please, let my magic work.

Nico inhaled, and Will sobbed with relief. It worked. The blood transfusion was working. He placed an oxygen mask over Nico's face and checked the rest of his vitals. He was breathing, and his heartbeat had steadied. It had worked. Blood was flowing from Jason to Nico. Will looked to Jason, who looked relieved to see Nico breathing again. He asked if Jason was okay. Jason nodded, though he looked uncomfortable. Blood transfusions tended to have that effect on people. Will sat back, catching his breath. He had almost lost Nico. He had grown to have feelings for Nico and was relieved that he had saved him. But it was still too soon to tell if Nico was okay. There was no telling when Nico would wake up.

Will looked at his hands. There were covered in blood. As was his shirt. He started picking up the shards of glass, carefully. He threw them into the trash can. He carefully lifted Nico and swept the broken mirror pieces from under him. He managed to get every piece into the trash. He walked over to the sink and washed the blood down the drain. He looked back over to Jason. The son of Jupiter was drooping in his chair. Will rushed over.


	15. Awake

Nico's POV:

When he first came to, he heard the infernal beeping of the heart monitor. And the feel of a mask over his nose and mouth. Which meant he was in the infirmary. Why was he in the infirmary? A kaleidoscope of memories from the previous morning came flooding in. Nightmare. Bianca. His mother. Broken mirror. Blood. Jason. Then, nothing. If he was in the infirmary that meant Jason had told Will. After Nico told him not to!

He cursed mentally and readjusted, praying that Will would not notice. Nico was almost 100% sure Will was watching him right now. Especially since he had been the cause of his own injuries. Which meant that Nico was going to be closely watched by both Jason and Will. Nico cursed mentally again. That ruined his plans to search for Leo. He wanted to keep that on the down-low, not wanting to give false hope to anyone if he could not return with Leo. He knew he would have to shadow travel and if Will found out he was shadow traveling; he would never let Nico out of his sight. Nico knew the risks of shadow traveling again, he could fade out of existence, but it was worth the risk to make sure Leo got home. He would have to find a way around Jason and Will. He settled a little more deeply into his mattress, forgetting he was being watched. His eyes almost opened when he heard a whisper to the side of him, but he kept them shut.

"Will. Will, I think Nico just moved." He heard footsteps hurry to his side. A hand grabbed his wrist. Nico stopped himself from flinching, but only just barely.

"Nico?" Will whispered, inches from his ear. "Nico, are you awake?" Nico shrugged away from Will and stirred as if he was just waking up. His eyes opened and found himself looking into Will's sapphire orbs. They were sparkled with concern and worry. There were bags under his eyes, showing his sleepless night. Nico felt a stab of guilt. He had caused Will to lose sleep over him. Looking around, Nico realized he was in his cabin. Nico tried to sit up, but Will stopped him.

"Whoa there, Nico, you can't sit up. You do not have enough strength right now. You have lost a lot of blood. If it hadn't been for Jason..." He trailed off. Nico's eyes flicked to Jason's. Betrayal filled his being. He had specifically made Jason promise not to tell Will. Jason's eyes dropped from Nico's accusing glare.

"I know, but I am not sorry for telling Will." His eyes flew back to Nico's. "You almost died Nico! Why would you do something like that to us? Did you think we would not care? Did you think-?" He was cut off by Will's quiet voice.

"Jason, stop. Nico needs to rest. Nico?" Nico's eyes flicked to the son of Apollos. "How are you feeling? Are you dizzy? Lightheaded?" Nico shook his head. He did not trust himself to speak.

Black spots danced in his eyes at the sudden movement of his head. He swallowed down nausea. He just wanted to be left alone. He looked down at himself. He saw a bandage wrapped around his elbow. He lifted his arm, examining the bandage. He glanced up and saw the same bandage in the same spot-on Jason's arm. He looked back at Will, a questioning glance in his eyes.

"That was a blood transfusion IV. You lost so much blood... Jason gave you some of his. He saved you, first by telling me and second by giving you the blood you needed."

The words sunk in. Jason had saved him. Nico was grateful. He might harm himself, but he did not want to die. He nodded at Jason, showing his gratitude. He looked back at Will who was staring deeply into his eyes.

"How about you get some more sleep, Nico? It'll make you feel better." Nico nodded, relaxing on the pillows. He shut his eyes and willed himself to sleep. He felt Will's hand, lightly touch his. He flinched, pulling his hand back, and Will slowly retracted his hand. Before he knew it, he sunk into sleep.

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Nico stirred awake again, five hours later, with the taste of pasta in his mouth. Someone had force-fed him ambrosia. Nico still felt exhausted. Because of his exhaustion, nightmares had stayed at bay. Looking around, he saw that Jason had stepped out. It did not matter; everyone always left him. Except, it seemed, the son of Apollo who was dozing in the chair next to Nico's bed. Nico could not seem to get rid of Solace, who Nico guessed would only stick around until Nico was fully healed. Nico sighed and closed his eyes again.

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Whispers broke Nico out of his sleep.

"I'm worried about him, Will," Jason's voice sounded over him.

"I am too." Will.

"How are we supposed to help him if he won't talk to us?"

"We just got to get him to talk. We got to get him to trust us, realize that we won't judge him or anything."

"... and how do we do that?" Will sighed, exaggeratedly, at Jason's question.

"And that is the number one question, Grace."

"What do we do until he actually opens up to us?"

"Be there for him. Show him that we care, and he can trust us. Prevent this from happening again. Make sure he is clean. Try to encourage him to open. We really need to figure out what his triggers are. Because one moment, he is his normal, brooding self, and the next he is having a panic attack." Jason sighed.

"His triggers are probably memories from Tartarus, but how would we stop those? They are memories, it's not like he can just turn them off." At this, Will's doctor's side came out.

"He could try repressing them, but I have a feeling he has been doing that, and that is why he is in the state he is in right now. Now, I am not an expert with Post Traumatic Stress with flashbacks and nightmares, but I have heard that the best treatment is to talk about it, and relive the memories, maybe to accept that they happened, and start to let them go, though that might be difficult considering Nico has apparently taken a vow of silence."

"How can he let something like Tartarus go?" Jason's whispered comment seemed to fill the room.

"I don't know, I truly do not know." Will was given upon him. Nico felt tears burn at his closed eyes. There was no hope. Tartarus was going to torment him for the rest of his life. He felt a tear squeeze out and run down his face. He prayed the other two would not notice, but of course, they did. He felt a hand brush the tear away. He willed himself not to flinch at the unexpected touch.

"Is he crying? Is he awake?" Jason whispered. Nico felt a hand on his wrist. Gods he thought do not let them know I am awake. They will just grill me and chew me out for hurting myself. Will have been tired because he said.

"He is still asleep. He must be dreaming. Why don't you get some sleep, Jason? You've been up all night and just trained all day with Piper." So that's where Jason had been. Not that it had mattered to Nico. Jason let out a noise of agreement and Nico heard him get into an empty bunk. Nico started to relax, glad not to have been found out when he felt a pair of lips press against his forehead, accompanied by Will's voice, his breath rustling his hair.

"Oh, Nico what is going on in that head of yours?" Will pulled back. He spoke in a low tone again. "I am going to help you, I swear." He grabbed Nico's hand, and Nico did not pull away. That is how he fell asleep.


	16. Emotions

Will's POV:

Will woke to find his fingers still intertwined with Nico di Angelo's. Will grinned, giddily, and looked around. He then remembered why he was in the Hades cabin. The grin wavered a bit and Will focused on his patient. He was surprised to see Nico twitching every so often, little groans coming out of his mouth every so often. He was dreaming. Will knelt in front of Nico, shaking him gently, trying not to wake Jason. After a minute, Will's shaking paid off and Nico sat up with a gasp, ripping himself from his own recollections. Will saw fear flashing the boy's eyes, his walls down before Nico realized where he was. He reached for the side table, looking for something, but Will stopped him. He knew exactly what Nico was looking for. Barred from his blade, Nico slowly began to fold in on himself, pulling his legs up to his chest, but Will prevented him. Nico tried to protest, but Will shushed him. He sat back in his chair, bent down so he could look Nico in the face. He placed his hands firmly on Nico's shoulders preventing him from moving. Nico struggled, but then relaxed realizing Will was not hurting him.

"What happened? What did you see?" Nico shook his head, refusing to speak. "Please tell me, Nico, I just want to help." Another shake of the head. "Nico?" Onyx's eyes locked onto his, but Nico soon looked down at his lap. Freeing one of his hands, Will pushed up Nico's chin, forcing him to look up. Nico's eyes opened, looking straight at Will. "Was it Tartarus?" Fear flooded into Nico's eyes. That was an answer, but Nico gave him confirmation. He paused for a moment and slowly nodded, Will's hand moving up and down with him. Will bit his lip and moved his hand so it rested on Nico's cheek. Nico did not flinch. Instead, his eyes closed, and he turned his head into Will's palm, nuzzling it. A tear slid down Nico's face, and Will used his thumb to brush it away.

"Shh, it's okay to cry, Nico. It is okay to not be okay. You've been through a lot; you deserve to let it all out."

At that, Will watched Nico's walls shoot back up. Nico brushed Will's hand away and used his sleeve to wipe away any sign of crying. He pushed himself up, ignoring Will's protests, and started pacing. Will moved to stop him, when Nico suddenly stumbled, not realizing how weak he was or how damaged his legs were. Will caught him and Nico whimpered. Will's heart broke, as he carefully lowered them to the floor. Nico burst into tears and Will rushed to soothe him, rubbing circles on his back.

"Oh, angel, it's okay to cry. Shh, it's okay to need help," his voice sounded right in Nico's ear so he could be heard over Nico's sobbing. "It's good to ask for help. It shows you are strong enough to know when you need help dealing with something. Let me help you." Nico's face rested against Will's chest. He wrapped his arms more securely around the boy. Nico clung more to him which Will took as the boy accepting his help. Will heard movement and his eyes shot up. His eyes locked with Jason's, who was cautiously moving out of his bed. Will shook his head, knowing Nico would be overwhelmed with more than one person. He gestured with his head to the door, telling Jason to beat it. Jason nodded and mouthed Good Luck as he silently slid out the door. Will focused back on his patient.

Nico's sobs finally lessen about an hour later and the death grip he had had on Will's shirt loosened. Nico's face finally emerged after being buried in Will's chest. Using his arm, Nico wiped away the dried tears and the tears tracks that had been left on his face. He was beginning to pull away from Will, but the son of Apollo stopped him. Nico started to struggle, but Will refused to let go. He shifted him back so Nico was leaning against the bed and Will was sitting in front of him, their legs still intertwined. Nico's eyes locked onto Will's and stayed there. Will did not want to break the moment, but he needed to know what was going on with Nico.

"Are you okay?" He was answered with a nod. "Do you want to talk about it?" Shake of the head. "Nico..." Eyes flickered up to Will's but quickly looked away. "You need to tell me what's going on so I can help you-" he was interrupted by the son of Hades who had refused to speak for days.

"I don't need to tell you anything. It's my personal business, not yours."

"It becomes my business when these flashbacks trigger you to hurt yourself, Nico." Nico flinched at the harsh tone, so Will tried to make his tone more calming. "I'm just trying to help you. You have some pretty bad injuries and I need to check how your legs are..." Nico shrugged.

"It's not that big of a deal." This set Will off. He had been trying so hard to keep his composure, but if Nico acted like him killing himself was not a big deal...

"It... It isn't a big deal?" Will lowered his voice into his scary-calm tone. "It's not a big deal that you feel the need to cut yourself because of the nightmares you are reliving every night? It's not a big deal that to avoid those painful memories, you are refusing to sleep? It is not a big deal that you have not eaten a decent meal in weeks. It isn't a big deal that you almost faded out of existence?" Will's voice was getting louder and stronger with emotion, but he pressed on. "It's not a big deal- why? Because you think you are worthless? Or not good enough? Or that you do not mean anything? Let me make one thing noticeably clear. You are very worth it. You are beyond good enough. You, Nico, are a hero, whether you like it or not. You mean the world to me and a hell of a lot of other people. When you hurt yourself, it is agonizing to watch you be in so much pain. When you have a panic attack, we are praying to the gods that we could take your place or get you out of them. It is a big deal! So, you need to stop this thing where you think that nobody gives a crap about you and think about how much you are hurting those people with the things you do to yourself. You need to come to us if you want to harm yourself, we will help you to not do it. You need to come to us when you have a panic attack or after you have a nightmare, we will help you deal with it. You need to talk to us about your memories, we will listen. You are not alone and never will be because the people around you care for you so godsdamn much!" Will finished his spiel, breathing heavily.

Nico looked shell-shocked to hear someone speak to him with so much emotion. Will got his breathing back under control and cleared his throat as if nothing had happened. "So, can I check your legs now?" Nico's eyes opened in shock, but he slowly nodded his head.

He asked Nico to remove his pants. Nico blushed but did so anyway. Will bit his lip when he saw Nico's thighs. The bandages were soaked through with dry blood. He looked at Nico for permission to remove the bandages, but Nico merely looked away in shame. Will peeled off the bandages and examined the self-made gashes. They were still bloody and cut very deep into Nico's skin. Will had done the best he could with the stitches, but at the time, he was preoccupied with making sure Nico had enough blood and was not going to die on Will. Will, with feather-light fingertips, slowly traced the gashes. Nico gasped and flinched but did not pull away. Will closed his eyes and his hands began to glow. Murmuring a hymn to Apollo, Will moved his hands over Nico's injuries for two minutes or so.

Suddenly, the glow stopped and Will's eyes slowly open. That had been draining on Will's energy. He looked at Nico's thighs. The gashes had started to close. It would at least be easier for Nico to walk, maybe without a limp. Will felt lightheaded and saw black spots dance in his eyes. That was the third time he had used his special healing power this week. He only used it in emergencies, but Nico had been one. Will was supposed to use his power sparingly and he has really pushed himself to his limit. He slowly lowered his head into his hands and braced himself on the floor. He realized Nico was shaking his shoulder and saying something. It took a couple of minutes, but Nico's voice finally registered.

"- Will?! Are you okay?! Should I get someone?" Will looked up to see Nico di Angelo's face inches in front of his. They were within kissing distance. Nico stopped talking and Will got lost in Nico's eyes. Will's eyes flicked down to Nico's lips and back up and then he cursed himself mentally for doing that. He wasn't about to kiss Nico! That would be unbelievably inappropriate, and Will didn't know if Nico was even gay. He had been born in the 1930s, so Nico probably scorned homosexuals. Will's gaze finally broke, moving his eyes away from Nico's. Will felt himself blush and saw Nico blushing too. He cleared his throat.

"I'm okay, thanks. I'm just going to finish..." He started wrapping new bandages around Nico's thighs. His hands were shaking as he did it because he was losing strength. Nico placed his hand on Will's steadying him. Will glanced up, touched by the gesture. He focused back down on his work, Nico steadying him. He finished up with Nico's thighs and continued looking at his legs. Everything else was healing fine.

"Will?" He let out a noise to show he had heard Nico. "Are you okay?" He looked up to meet Nico's concerned eyes. That was a reversal of roles. Will was supposed to be asking Nico if he was okay, not the other way around.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine!" Will's eyes widened in shock about how hypocritical Nico was being. "I'm assuming that you have been with me the entire time I've been passed out. That probably means you have not eaten or slept in a couple of days. If you do not focus on your health, you are going to get sick."

"I- I... No, you do not have any right to tell that to me. I have been watching over you and making sure you were okay! If that means I do not get to eat or do not get sleep, then so be it. Your wellbeing is my number one concern." Nico looked shocked at the words as if he could not imagine someone caring about him that much.

"Uhh..." The two boys lapsed into silence. After a minute, Will gained eye contact with the son of Hades. Nico's eyes were filled with something Will did not expect gratitude.

"Will," Will raised his eyebrow in response. "Thanks for healing me and... yeah." Will smiled.

"You are very welcome. Now you should eat something and get some more sleep," Nico looked nauseous at the idea of food, but Will continued. "You need food whether you like it or not. Do not worry, you won't have to eat a lot. I'm going to go down to the dining hall, so don't even think about leaving." Nico nodded and watched as Will got up and departed the cabin.

Will closed the door and started the walk to the pavilion. Breakfast was in full swing, but the pavilion went quiet as Will entered. Something was wrong. The silence was disturbed by the clip-clop of hooves and Chiron walked past Will gesturing for him to follow. Will knew he had to get back to Nico soon, but he could not refuse to talk to Chiron. With practically the entire camp watching him, he complied. He ran to get caught up and he and Chiron started walking to the beach. Chiron's arms were crossed behind his back as he pondered his speech before voicing it.

"An interesting story came to me the other day. The whole camp was wondering where Will Solace, Nico di Angelo, and Jason Grace were. At first, I believed that Jason has merely gone to fulfill his job as pontifex Maximus at Camp Jupiter. But then I thought that impossible because there is no way he could travel there, and he is an unbelievably strict young man and would have told me if he was leaving. Anyways, the only way he would have been able to leave is using shadow- travel and I knew that you gave Nico strict orders not to do that. That got me thinking about where you two were. Nobody had seen Nico for a couple of days, which is sadly completely normal even if he cannot shadow travel. But you had not been seen all night. I was about to send out a search party when I was stopped by your sister Kayla." Chiron stopped as they felt the grass turn to sand under their feet. They looked out at the beautiful ocean while Chiron continued. "She told me that you were with Nico and had gone into the city." Really Kayla he thought that is the best you can think of. "And I thought that that was suspicious considering one, you are not allowed to leave camp without permission, two, you follow the rules as much as anyone, and three, you wouldn't just leave camp as you are the head of your cabin and head healer. But I decided to believe her story because if something were truly the matter, she would tell me, or you would come and get me. But when I overheard Piper mentioning to Annabeth that she had crossed you with blood on your shirt, I started to get worried. She also mentioned to Annabeth that she had not seen Jason either. Jason eventually showed up and I demanded to know where you two were. He blanched and said he made a promise and could not tell me, but that you two were okay. I assumed he stupidly made an oath, so I let him be, but when he kept showing up, I kept asking questions. And now, finally, you show up. So, I must ask you, wherein Zeus' name have you been and where is Nico di Angelo?" He asked calmly, but with a look of you-better-tell-me-right-now-or-I-will-feed-you-to-Peleus. Will gulped and searched his mind for an excuse. He could not grasp one. So, he settled for the half-truth.

"We have been at camp this whole time. Nico got really hurt and his injuries were life-threatening, but I brought him from the brink. He is still recovering. And before you ask what hurt him," Chiron had opened his mouth and raised his finger as if to ask a question, but Will stopped him. "That is patient confidentially. Just know that he is okay and is on the mend. If he wants to tell you what happened, that is his decision."

"It is not patient confidentially of the patient is doing something that is threatening to his own life, Mr. Solace." That was a red flag that Chiron had an inkling of what was happening. "And at any rate, I am one of the leaders of the entire camp and an overseeing healer, so I am allowed to know the business of the campers at the camp."

"Actually, sir, you may one of the leaders and overseeing healer, but I am ahead healer and Nico is my patient, which makes him my responsibility," Will said, respectfully. "Sir." He added as an afterthought. Chiron narrowed his eyes, but he looked as though he thought Will had made a good point.

"I respect that, Mr. Solace, but know that if Mr. di Angelo's condition worsens or he continues to injure himself in the same way, I am going to have to step in and take charge." Chiron turned and galloped away. Chiron knew or guessed that Nico was cutting himself. Still, Will felt relieved as Chiron had allowed him to keep it between him and Nico. It was Nico's decision about who he wanted to share his secret with. Will walked back to the dining pavilion and ran into three incredibly angry demigods. Percy, Annabeth, and Piper. Jason was behind but had a sympathetic face towards Will.

"Where has Nico been?"

"We've asked Chiron, but he said he didn't know anything. We tried to go to his cabin, but Jason stopped us, saying he wasn't there."

"Jason is giving us this bullcrap that Nico is okay, but he isn't telling us anything!" Will held his hand up for silence, which he was surprised that he got.

"Nico was hurt, but I healed him, and he is okay. I am watching him and currently trying to get him some food. Now, if you do not mind," he walked past the four demigods, but they started following him. "Oh, and please don't try to find Nico. He is very weak right now and does not need any questions. It is his decision to tell you what happened, not mine. Jason, with me." He said over his shoulder. Jason looked apologetically at his girlfriend, his best friend with his girlfriend. He ran up beside Will and they continued to the pavilion.


	17. Searching

Nico's POV:

His name being called out woke him again. He had another nightmare, but it was less terrifying than his previous ones. He shot up, only to be embraced in a warm hug. He flinched away from the arms encircling him but then relaxed into them, his face against a well-defined chest. He heard Will saying that everything was alright, and he was safe. For once, he believed that. As soon as his heart rate got under control, he pushed away from Will. He rubbed his eyes and noticed sunlight streaming in. He looked at Will, who had been watching him. Will who had brought him back from the brink. Will who had stayed with him again. Will smiled at him.

"If you feel ready, you can leave the cabin. Just let me check the stitches." He did so. Although they were healing, the scars that were going to be left behind were always going to a reminder to Nico of what had happened. "They are healing, but take it easy today okay? We don't want the stitches to break."

Nico nodded and headed to the bathroom to get changed. He walked into the bathroom. It was spotless. Will have cleaned it and replaced the mirror on his sleepless nights. No trace of the incident was left behind. Still, Nico avoided looking at himself in the new mirror. He changed out of his clothes and slid into the shower. He washed the dried blood on his body and carefully washed around the gashes. He gasped as some of the soap got into the cuts. Will asked if he was okay and if he needed help.

"I'm fine! And I swear to the gods if you come in here..." Nico spat out angrily.

I Will not have wanted to make Nico angry as no other comment was heard from him. Nico wondered why Will had been there the whole time. He said he cared about Nico, but Nico guessed he was only there because he was a healer. If he weren’t, he probably wouldn't even be dealing with Nico. He sighed as he ran shampoo and conditioner through his hair. It was getting long, but there was no way Will would let him anywhere near a pair of scissors, much less any other sharp object. Nico did not even know where Jason had taken his sword, but he would eventually need that. As the last of the bubbles swirled down the drain, Nico turned the water off, and wrapped a towel carefully around himself, dried off, and dressed. He walked out of the bathroom and looked towards Will. Will smiled and gestured to the door. Nico, for the first time in days, walked into the sunlight.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Besides almost being tackled by Percy and Annabeth demanding to know where he was. Nico shrugged it off, saying he shadow traveled into some monsters and gotten nasty wounds. They luckily bought it and Nico went on his way. He went to a couple of classes, just watching, not participating for the rest of the day. He had stomached down his dinner and was currently walking back to his cabin, Will following him, explaining that he was going to leave Nico on his own.

"And if you have any nightmares," I will not be sleeping tonight he thought. "Don't hesitate to find me. You know where I'll be," Yeah, finally catching up on the sleep I made you lose. "And don't do anything stupid, like shadow traveling." Well, there goes my plan to start my search for Leo tonight. "You're starting to heal, but we can't risk losing you again."

"Will, I'll be fine. I was on my own for a while, I can survive by myself in my cabin. I'm not afraid of the dark." He joked, but Will looked wary.

"Alright, but seriously," his eyes sparkled with sincerity. "Do not hesitate to find me if you have nightmares." Nico nodded.

"I promise." Will smiled.

"Okay, goodnight!" He squeezed Nico's hand. He let go and Nico missed his warmth. Will smiled and jogged back to his cabin. Nico sighed and entered his cabin.

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Two weeks had passed since that conversation between Nico and Will. Nico had listened to Will's advice and not shadow traveled, putting off his search for Leo until tonight. He knew Will was right and knew he needed to gain his strength back. During the week, every morning, he had been accosted by Will and Jason, asking if he had had any nightmares and forcing him to show his wrists. Will then took him to the infirmary and checked his thighs to see if they were healing and if there were any fresh cuts. Nico knew that was going to happen every morning, so even though he had had nightmares, he refrained from cutting. After the first week, Will had stopped checking his thighs, and little cuts started littering them again. Will and Jason said they were proud of him, and Nico barely prevented himself from vomiting at the sappiness of it. It is not like he was doing much better. He barely slept, and when he did, he had nightmares that often make him vomit. He never went to Will though. He was not going to admit he needed help.

To start gaining his strength back, he had trained both weeks in the arena, though not overexerting himself. Percy brought up the challenge they had made when they were in the infirmary, and though Nico was all for it, Will cut in, forbidding Nico from participating. Nico angrily agreed.

Speaking of Will, he seemed to be like Nico's shadow, following him, making sure he was not pushing himself too hard. Although Nico could get annoyed with Will, they were beginning to become close friends. As close friends as Nico normally had, that was. Nico had started to fall for Will but was doing his best to not think about it. Will, however, always followed around Nico all day until he went to his cabin after the camp sing-along which he blatantly refused to participate in, which only egged Will on to sing louder, next to him, and more out of tune. During the campfire, Will sang horribly out of tune. Nico had just spent the campfire in the shadows away from the rest of the campers. He started back to his cabin, to prepare for his journey. He ran through his plan on the way back. He was not going to risk shadow traveling yet, but rather use Mrs. O'Leary. He was going to the Underworld to ask his father about Leo and hopefully get some answers. But first, he had to go into Jason's cabin and get his sword back. He had prepared a backpack of some food, water, and ambrosia. He reached his cabin door when he heard Will's voice.

"Nico." Crap. "Hey."

"Solace."

"I was wondering if you were okay. You were a little distracted today." Nico had spent the day thinking about the places he was going to find Leo. His thoughts were interrupted by Will waving his hand in front of his face. "Hello? Nico?" He gained eye contact with Will.

"Sorry I just zoned out."

"That's what I'm talking about. You've been doing this all day."

"I'm fine, Will. Leave me alone." Will looked hurt, but Nico had to get rid of him.

"Okay, fine, but if you need to talk, feel free to talk to me. If you have any nightmares-"

"Come and get you, yeah." Nico finished. Will had said that to him every night even though Nico had never come to him. Nico had a feeling that Will knew that he was having nightmares. Whether it was his lack of sleep or Clovis was a gossip, he did not know.

"Alright, goodnight Nico. Actually, get some sleep will ya?" Nico nodded and opened the door to his cabin, closing the door on the son of Apollo. He heard footsteps receding as Will walked away. He breathed a sigh of relief. He walked to his bed and began to pack up his stuff.

It was past midnight and Nico quietly opened the door to the Zeus cabin. He prayed that Jason was asleep. The moon spilled some light into the marble cabin. Jason was asleep, his mouth open, glasses falling off his face. There was a book open on the floor, showing that Jason fell asleep reading. Nico surveyed the room, looking for his sword. It was in the corner, emitting its blackish glow. He grabbed the hilt, feeling safer than he had in days. He sheathed it by his side. He didn't realize that Jason started awaking. Jason adjusted his glasses and noticed Nico.

"Nico." Nico whipped around. Jason's eyes were clouded with sleep and narrowed as he saw Nico. "What are you doing here? Did you have a nightmare? Why-why do you have a backpack?" He started to get more alert, sitting up. "Are you going somewhere?"

Nico put his finger on his lips, and Jason surprisingly stopped talking. Nico pointed at Jason and he fell promptly asleep. It was one of his powers. But unfortunately, it drained him. He steadied himself on the bed frame and breathed in and out for a few seconds. He walked out of the cabin. He walked across the dark lawn of the camp and into the woods. He whistled loudly and waited. He heard huge footsteps and was bulldozed by a furry brick wall. He patted Mrs. O'Leary and managed to fight away from her tongue as she licked him to death. He got to his feet and calmed her down enough to climb on her back. He whispered into her ear that he wanted to go to his father's palace and her ears perked. She leaped into the shadow of a tree and they were whisked into darkness.

They materialized in the black marble palace of the God of the Underworld. Mrs. O'Leary started barking, excited to be back on her home turf. Nico slid off of her and patted her on the neck. She scampered out the door to go play with Cerberus. He was in the entrance hall. He pushed open the doors to the rest of the palace. He silently walked through the halls of the palace. He walked out on the balcony overlooking the Field of Punishment. The fact that his father had this balcony overlooking the pain of the Field of Punishment disturbed Nico greatly. He shook his head and reentered the palace. His father could be in his chambers, but he typically didn't sleep. After all, it was only one in the morning. After scouring the palace, he realized his father might have been doing fortifications. After Thanatos had finally been returned, so many escaped souls had to be recalled to the Underworld. Some of those spirits had not been entirely happy about being sent back and had attacked the palace. Not that Hades hadn't been able to take care of them, but when he wasn't at the palace, sometimes spirits broke in and destroyed the furniture. Hades was adding extra security against those angry spirits.

Nico pushed his way through the front doors. He walked to the outside of the palace. Sure enough, he found his father directing a crew of skeleton workers adding black-marble bricks to new walls. Every so often Hades would point at the bricks and which would glow and seal to the remaining bricks. He was lacing them with magic, insuring spirits couldn't get past them. Nico walked to his father's side and watched the progress of the skeletons. His father finally spoke.

"I know why you are here. I'm surprised you didn't come sooner."

"I was... Delayed." Nico simply stated. He was not sure, but he thought he saw a smirk emerge on his father's face.

"Indeed. Who is that son of Apollo again? Walker?" Nico felt the heat rise into his cheeks.

"Father!"

"Son!" He said in the same tone.

"If you know why I'm here, do you have an answer for me?" Nico forced himself to focus on his mission. His father looked bored as he continued building the wall.

"That depends, what will you do if I answer your question?"

"No matter what your answer is, I will search for Leo Valdez."

"Are you sure you don't love this Valdez character instead of that son of Apollo? If you are willing to scour the entire globe for him?"

"Father!" His face flushed red again. His father smirked again and lazily looked at Nico.

"Well, I can tell you that he is not anywhere down here." A bubble of hope started expanding in Nico's chest. That meant...

"So... Leo's alive?" His father merely looked bored and turned back to his work, ignoring Nico. "Right, okay. Thank you, father." He turned away, purpose in his steps.

"Oh, and Nico," he turned back to his father. "Wherever Valdez is, he is accompanied by a young goddess and a bronze dragon." Nico's eyes widened at the extra information. That meant Leo had found Calypso. Jason had talked to him all about how Leo had gotten trapped with Calypso. Leo was apparently in love. His father gained eye contact with him, and Nico tried to show his gratitude, by nodding. "Once you are done with all this searching nonsense, remember that you have a job to do, Ghost King. I'll be sure to send some spirits to give you more information for your quest." Nico thanked his father and jogged down the hill of the palace. He whistled for Mrs. O'Leary and she came bounding back. He jumped on her back and whispered in her ear. They melted into the darkness.

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Nico had not had sleep in a week. He started getting ghost visitors during the day who gave him clues about where Leo was. During the cover of night, he searched for Leo, Calypso, and Festus. He was getting closer to pinpointing Leo's location. He usually used Mrs. O'Leary, but campers had started to get suspicious that she was so exhausted, so Nico himself started shadow jumping. It was nerve-wracking at first, but he steeled himself and managed to shadow travel for the first time in weeks. The day after the first night had tried it, Will had noticed it the moment he walked out of his cabin. He interrogated him, but Nico had managed to shake him off.

He fell back into his old rhythm of shadow traveling. He had just made it to Quebec. He had heard a rumor from a ghost that a bronze dragon with a crazy boy and beautiful girl riding on him had just left France and was screaming about maple syrup. Nico made a connection to Quebec as French was spoken in both areas. He began to comb through the city. Asking around, he had apparently just missed a huge explosion at the warehouse on the edge of the city and a giant hot-air balloon in the sky sailing away from it with a boy and girl riding it. The Mist and how much it manipulated mortals' minds sometimes shocked Nico.

He slipped into an alley and closed his eyes. He had just missed them again. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and trekked down the alley, reaching the outskirts of town. He saw an abandoned warehouse. It had a hole ripped through the roof as if a dragon-shaped hunk of metal had fallen through it. Nico went to investigate it, hoping to find some clues as to where Leo and Calypso had gone. He silently entered the warehouse. It had stacks of old machinery. He walked through the tangle of machinery and heard a voice.

"Curse that demigod! How dare he put a hole through our roof." The voice was gruff.

"Oh, quit your whining. I am more upset that we lost him as our meal. And I was going to get the girl as my wife. Did you hear how rude she was about my eye?" Another gruff voice answered. Nico made the connection. Cyclops. He stifled a gasp. He could not face two Cyclops. He was so sleep-deprived and worn out from shadow traveling that he did not know if he could defeat a training dummy. He stepped back into a table. A hammer hit the ground with a deafening thud. The two voices stopped.

"What was that?" One whispered. Nico stayed still, hoping not to alert his presence. He heard sniffing.

"I smell demigod."

"That was the last one with his girlfriend."

"No! This one is different! He reeks of death." Nico slowly started backing up to the door.

Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. He moved his hand to his sword and went to turn when a sword tip ripped through his stomach. He gasped as it retracted and he fell to his knees, grasping his stomach. He had not been fast enough. The cyclops snuck upon him. It came into view, with a smile on his face, his sword dripping with Nico's blood.

"Look, brother. I found our dinner." The cyclops went to grab Nico, but the son of Hades reached for a shadow and whisked out of sight. He did not know where he would end up. He guessed that shadow traveling used his subconscious because he ended up in the middle of the Apollo cabin. He gasped in pain, as black spots danced in his eyes. He heard several screams. He wavered on his feet as he gained eye contact with Will Solace. Will looked confused as to why Nico had appeared in his cabin, at one in the morning.

"Nico? What are you-" Nico gently removed his hand from his stomach, revealing his bloodstained fingers and the gaping wound. Will's eyes widened in horror. "Gods, NICO!?" He sprang to secure Nico. Nico's eyes rolled back into his head. He felt arms wrap around him as he let the darkness take him under.


	18. Blessings

Will's POV:

He wrapped his arms around the fading son of Hades. Will could feel the darkness emitting from the boy as he slowly lowered him to the ground. Nico had been shadow traveling. Quite frequently. It explained why Nico had looked exhausted during the week. He focused back on the patient at hand. He laid Nico down and closed his own eyes. He began murmuring a spell and running his hands over Nico, trying to determine what was wrong with him. Besides the gaping wound in his stomach, centaur blood, poisonous for demigods, was coursing through Nico's veins. Also, Nico was severely exhausted, malnourished, and was close to fading out of existence. Will took in a deep breath. He blocked out all the frantic screams around him and only had eyes for the son of Hades bleeding out in front of him. He had to save Nico.

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The next thing Will was aware of, he was being handed a glass of nectar and was sitting up in bed. When had he gotten there? And why did he have an IV in him? He noticed sunlight streaming into the cabin. He looked up in confusion at Kayla who was looking at him sympathetically. The last thing he remembered was... Nico! Nico was hurt! He started to stand, but Kayla pushed him back down.

"Easy there, Will. You need to get your strength back. You used all your strength to heal Nico-"

"Nico! Is he okay? Where is he? Kayla, I need to see him-" He tried to get up again, only to be pushed back down again.

"Nico is fine! You, however, are not. You are draining yourself. You need sleep."

"What happened, at least tell me that?" Kayla sighed and sat down next to Will. She looked exhausted as if she had been up all night. "I don't remember anything."

"That's because you passed out." Will looked in alarm at her, and she took a deep breath, continuing. "Okay, I'll start at the beginning. Nico shadow traveled in here and he was severely injured. You caught him before he hit the ground and started looking over him. You went into your doctor's mood and started giving orders. We all-we all tried to help, but-but Nico was severely injured. We all got your supplies, and we all did everything we could but- but he was failing." Kayla took a deep breath. Will urged her to continue. "He... He went into cardiac arrest," Will's heart dropped, but she kept going. "You started panicking, muttering under his breath. You started screaming. Everyone was scrambling, trying to stabilize him, but- but we were all thrown back. We all looked up and you were surrounded by a golden aura..." I Will let that information sink in. He understood what it was.

"The blessing of Apollo?" He whispered. Kayla nodded. Will leaned back in shock.

"I have not heard of any Apollo child having it in decades," Kayla said. "You must care about Nico a lot and have passionately wanted to save him to be surrounded by that aura. Father rarely blesses anyone with it." Kayla paused before continuing. "You were surrounded by the aura, you started singing and Nico was surrounded as well, for about an hour. The aura around you started dimming after a while, and Nico was stabilizing. It was like... You were giving your strength, your life force to Nico. Suddenly, the light went out and you collapsed. Nico gasped and sat up. But, he passed out again from exhaustion. We all rushed over to you and Nico. Nico was completely healed, his wound, just a scar. But you, Will... It was horrible. You had a really high fever and were having a fit. You started to fade as if you were dying. We called Chiron, and he barely brought you back. You almost killed yourself, saving Nico." Will swallowed some nectar, to try and wrap his head around the situation.

If he had died saving Nico, it would have been worth it. Will, of course, did not want to die, but if it meant saving someone, especially someone he cares about, then it would totally be worth it. It would make up for the lives he had lost. The people who had died under his watch stuck with him forever. He must have zoned out because Kayla was waving her hand in front of his face.

"Will? Will?!" He looked over to her. "Okay, you need more sleep."

"No, no. I need to see Nico, I need to check on him."

"Will! Can you just listen to me?" Kayla rarely raised her voice, so Will was shocked into silence. "For once, you have to put yourself first. I know you really care about your patients and I know you really care about Nico, but you almost died! I almost lost you!" Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, but Will did not say anything. He felt an overwhelming sense of guilt or putting Kayla through that.

"Well, I'm sorry. I am. But I am fine now, see? Let me see Nico!" He stood up but was shoved back down.

"You are not fine! You almost died! You have been unconscious for three days." Will stopped struggling as he heard what Kayla said.

"What?"

"You've been unconscious for three days. Your life force was fading! If Chiron hadn't had been here... We had to start you on a feeding tube. You had woken up a couple of times, but you were unresponsive when we tried to talk to you or feed you. It was terrifying. So, for once in your life, let someone else take care of you. You are exhausted. Sleep!" Will's eyes started drooping, and he fell back onto the bed. Kayla must have spiked his nectar while he was not looking. The last image he saw was Kayla taking the empty glass from his hands.

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Kayla was keeping Will cooped up in the cabin, saying he needed to rest, and he finally understood why Nico hated the infirmary. He wanted to leave and check on Nico, but Kayla forbade him. So, Will did what any teenager would do. He snuck out.

It was past midnight. Kayla had finally decided to take the night off from the infirmary, leaving Brandon in charge in her place. Will knew that even though Kayla had probably given Brandon explicit orders not to let Will in. Will could easily convince him to step aside. He waited to hear the telltale signs of Kayla fading into sleep. He threw his covers off and slipped out the front door, silently closing it. He stepped into the brisk air and jogged to the infirmary. He ducked inside and made his way to the infirmary doors. He silently opened them, but light spilled into the room, alerting Brandon of his presence.

"Hey! Kayla said I'm not supposed to let you in here-" Brandon said warily, getting up to block Will's way.

"And as a head healer, I outrank her, and I'm in charge. I'm allowed in the infirmary."

"She said you'd say that, and she told me to get her if you kept trying to get in." Brandon started moving towards the door. Will intercepted him, pointing a finger in his face.

"You will not go get her. I am fine and if I really were that bad, she would be angry that you let me out of your sight. I just want to see Nico." But Brandon was holding his own.

"No."

"Brandon."

"No."

"Look, I just want to see Nico, so I don't care if you go get Kayla, I am seeing him! He is my patient and my best friend, so I make the calls about him and his health! I care about him a lot and need to see if he is okay!" He whisper-shouted as he pushed past Brandon. Brandon made a noise of protest but then thought better of it. Will thought of a point and looked back at Brandon. "Oh, and Kayla hasn't had a decent night's sleep in weeks, so it will be detrimental to her own health if you go and get her. And you will face her wrath for waking her up." Brandon's face looked terrified at the thought, so he sat back down. Will smiled and turned back around.

He walked into the same room Nico was in last time. Sure enough, there was the son of Hades, sprawled across the cot. Will guessed that he had not woken up since he had been brought here. Will smirked as he noticed that Nico was wearing a hospital gown, a sign that Will did not heal him as Will would not have forced him to wear it, as he knew how much Nico despised them. Will walked over to Nico, taking his hand. It felt cold. He took Nico's pulse. It was steady but slow as Nico was deep in sleep. He turned Nico's wrists over, no new scars along his wrists, thankfully. He peeled off the hospital gown to fully examine Nico. The gaping wound that was present when he had first seen Nico was gone, just a scar in its place. Will ran his fingers along with it, confounded. How did a wound like that just disappear? He knew that the blessing of Apollo was powerful, but was it really that powerful? To leave almost no trace of an injury. No wonder Will had been out for days. His eyes wandered down to the boy's thighs. No! New cuts had appeared since the last time Will had checked. Nico was cutting again. Will cursed himself, mentally, for not keeping a closer eye on Nico. He should have realized that Nico had been having nightmares. He should have realized sooner that Nico had been shadow traveling. Will shuddered as he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He put his hand against his forehead. He could feel a fever hot against his hand. His head suddenly felt so heavy. He sat in the chair by the bed. He let his head fall onto the pillow, next to Nico's. He then drifted into sleep.

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Kayla's POV: 

"WILLIAM FREAKING SOLACE!" Was the first thing the campers of Camp Half-Blood heard in the morning. Kayla should have felt bad about waking the entire camp, but she did not. All she felt was rage at her idiot half-brother. He was being a filthy little hypocrite. All his complaining about how sometimes his patients left their beds, and now he was the culprit. When I get my hands on him, she thought, murderously. She stormed across the campgrounds and slammed the Big House doors open, causing a picture frame to fall off the wall. She trudged to the infirmary and slammed the door open in there, causing Brandon to jump. His face turned into one of panic and absolute fair.

"Oh crap!"

"Oh, crap is right!"

Kayla knew exactly where her brother was. She walked to Nico's room, about to start yelling at Will. She opened the door and was stopped mid-yell. Will's head was on the pillow next to Nico's and their hands were laced together. Kayla's anger melted away at the sight.

Looking closer, she saw that Will was shaking. Her eyebrows knit. She carefully put her hand against his forehead. He was burning up. She tutted and grabbed a cold washcloth, wiping the sweat off his forehead. She wrapped him in a blanket and quietly closed the door, leaving the two boys to sleep.

Nico's POV:

Bryce Lawrence and Octavian had plagued Nico's dreams. Their faces burned on his eyelids as he started to wake up. His eyes shot open. His heart was racing. He felt himself losing his form as the shadows from his dreams tried to claim him. He was shaking after experiencing Bryce's death again. All my fault, all my fault, all my fault- he forced these thoughts away as he tried to gain back his solid-state. He breathed deeply. He moved his hand to grab something solid and his fingers laced with another hand. He looked over in surprise to find a blonde mop of hair on his face. Will Solace. Whose hand he was holding now. He blushed.

As he thought about Will, and the way Will made him feel, he gained his form back. If Will was here, that meant he was in the infirmary. He wracked his brain for why he would be there. Something about Leo. And shadow traveling. Cyclops... That is, it! He had been stabbed. He looked down at himself, flushing when he found himself in a hospital gown. He pulled it back to see his abdomen and find the wound left behind by the Cyclops' sword, only to find the skin unscathed. What? How was that possible? He tried to think of some explanation as sleep claimed him again.


	19. Healer

Nico's POV:

It had been two days since Nico was last awake. After Nico had been looked over and told he was cleared to go, Will started asking Nico was in Hades had happened. Nico had explained which was why Will was currently interrogating him, his arms over his chest and footing tapping impatiently.

"What did you do?"

"I shadow traveled."

"And what did I tell you about shadow traveling?" Nico's eyes fell from his and to the floor.

"Not to do it."

"Exactly! What were you thinking? You could have gotten yourself killed! You almost did get yourself killed!" Nico looked back up at him, his face filled with exasperation.

"I was doing something important!"

"What was so important that you would risk your life for it, Nico?" Nico looked down to the floor again. He couldn't tell Will that he had been looking for Leo. Nico mentally cursed himself for getting hurt. He had lost valuable time in searching for Leo. He was probably halfway around the country now! "Well?" He had forgotten to answer Will. He simply shrugged and muttered.

"I can't tell you." Will sighed.

"Nico! It is really damaging to your health. You got stabbed! And I know you had been doing it every night last week. Do not pretend. I saw you during training. You were dead on your feet. You must have been traveling during the night. You had an aura of shadow surrounding you. I should have intervened sooner. What were you doing?" Nico refused to answer. The silence stretched out before Will broke it.

"Just be more careful, Nico. I really hate to see you hurt." The statement sparked Nico's curiosity.

"How did you manage to make the wound completely disappear? There is only a scar left." Nico watched Will's walls go up as if reluctant to talk about it.

"I don't exactly know."

"Interesting." An awkward silence fell over the two boys. Nico cleared his throat, moving to get up.

"Can I go now?"

"Yes, I suppose, but take it easy." Nico jumped off the bed and walked through the door. Will's voice stopped him. "Oh, and Nico?" Nico stopped, poking his head back in the room. "I saw the cuts on your thighs." Nico's face flushed. He felt ashamed of himself. "No shadow traveling at all the rest of this week. Go and get some sleep in your cabin." Nico was dismissed. He strolled across the camp where daylight was fading, and onto his cabin steps where Jason was waiting. His head shot up as he saw Nico approach.

"Nico! How are you?" Nico shrugged and tried to go inside, but Jason prevented him. "Are you really okay? From what I heard; you were on your death bed."

"I'm fine, Jason!" Jason let out a small laugh.

"Ha, yeah right. That is why you have been unconscious for a week, huh? Because you are fine? How did you get injured anyway? I asked Will but he said he didn't know."

"I was running errands." Even as Nico said it, he knew it was a feeble lie. Jason's eyes narrowed as he detected the lie.

"Errands? For what?"

"My father. In the Underworld. I am the current Ghost King you know?"

"I don't believe that. I mean that you were running errands."

"Well, I was doing something important! Now get off my back. Stop acting like Will!" Jason looked at him severely.

"You should be nicer to Will! He saved your life. And from what I heard, he almost killed himself when healing you." That stopped Nico in his tracks.

"What?"

"Yeah, didn't you know? Apparently, he got the blessing of Apollo, which is unbelievably rare, and he saved you, causing all your injuries to fade away. From what the Apollo cabin told me, he almost drained his own life force saving you-" Nico tuned Jason out and forced his way into his cabin. He slammed the door shut and slid down it. He could not believe what he had just heard. Will had almost died, saving him? He could hear Jason knocking at the door, but he ignored him. He ran to his bed and buried himself in his sheets. Another person had almost died because of him. What kind of person did that make Nico? Nico certainly was not worth people hurting themselves to try and save him. He deserved to die as he had been the cause of many deaths.

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Will's POV:

It was ten o'clock before Will had finally gotten away from the infirmary. He headed straight to Nico's cabin, with a bag of his overnight things. He honestly did not trust the boy not to travel again and, because his habits had to start up again, Will wanted to watch over Nico. With permission from Chiron, he could sleep in the Hades cabin for the time being to keep an eye on Nico. He got to the steps of the cabin to find Jason sitting there. He asked what happened and Jason explained their conversation. So even Jason, one Nico's closest friends, couldn't even figure out what he had been doing? Will let out a sigh and told Jason that they would just have to work harder to figure out what Nico had been doing. Will also brought up that Nico was cutting again, and Jason let out a pain. "No!" Will reassured him that he was staying with Nico to try and prevent him from doing it. Jason looked relieved to be free of his vigil duty. He nodded to Will and walked back to cabin number 1. Will looked back to the Hades cabin. He slowly crept inside. It was silent in the cabin. Moonlight spilled into the room, illuminating Nico's face. Nico's face, and body, was tense with pain from Will guessed was his nightmares. Will sighed softly. Nico was broken and Will wanted to fix that. He brushed the hair out of Nico's eyes and Nico nuzzled into his hand. Will's heart fluttered and he continued to tangle his hand into Nico's hair. The son of Hades visibly relaxed as Will brought him comfort. He settled more deeply into his pillows and had a peaceful look on his face. One of that his last name suggested. An angel. Will's hand dropped back to his side. He ran his fingers through his own hair wondering what he was going to do about Nico. He glanced around the room for any visible blades and spotted one on the dresser. He palmed that and hid it in his bag. When he searched the room, not finding any other blades, he decided to get ready for bed. He walked into the bathroom, closing the door. He brushed his teeth and changed into pajamas. He had already showered so he did not need to do that. He exited the bathroom, flicking off the light, and made his way to an open bunk. He pushed his way under the covers and tried to relax into sleep. Somehow, with thoughts racing around in his mind, sleep finally overtook him.

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A muffled scream woke Will. His eyes flew open and latched immediately on Nico di Angelo whose mouth the scream was issuing from. He moved to wake Nico up, but he had already woken himself up and was taking gasping breaths. Nico got up and stumbled to the dresser, feeling for his razor, and became agitated when he could not find it. He then opened one of the drawers and pulled a hidden one out. He stumbled past Will, without seeing him, into the bathroom. Will decided it was time to intervene. He sprang after Nico into the bathroom. As Nico was just about to draw the blade across his skin, Will lurched himself forward. Nico looked up in shock, and Will grabbed his arm to try and make him release the blade. Nico must have still been in his nightmare because he began fighting Will off. The two boys struggled for a bit before Will eventually got hold of the razor. He took it and with one hand still fending off Nico, dropped it into the toilet, flushing it away. Nico screamed "No!" and all the fight seemed to collapse out of him. He laid huddled on the ground. Will sat back up and gathered Nico into his arms. Nico whimpered but soon latched himself onto Will's shirt, crying into it. Will rubbed his back, soothingly. Nico stayed like that for about half an hour before finally lifting his head up. He gained eye contact with Will and his eyebrows furrowed as he realized what has just happened. He tried to pull away, and ashamed look coming across his face, but Will moved to reassure him.

"Shh, Nico. You do not need to feel ashamed. You went through a hard time and it's normal to feel scared." Nico's eyes still looked wary, but he stopped trying to move away.

"What are you doing here, Will?" His voice was so quiet that if Will had not been a foot away from him, he would not have heard him.

"I came to stay with you to make sure you don't have any nightmares and you don't hurt yourself. Chiron gave me permission to stay in your cabin for a while." Nico glanced up, his eyes panicking, but he quickly wiped that away and replaced it with an expression of exasperation.

"Well, you don't need to stay with me. I don't need help." Will could hear that the son of Hades did not really believe what he was saying.

"Nico, I know it's hard for you to hear, but you do need help." Nico looked to the floor again so Will put his fingers under Nico's chin, and pushed it up so he could see Nico's face. His eyes were shut tightly. "Nico, look at me." His eyes slid open. "It's nothing to be ashamed of. We all need help sometimes. Like me. I am a son of Apollo and I can't even shoot an arrow. I need Chiron to wrap his arms around me and show me how to hold them. Do you know how mortifying that is?" A ghost of a smile worked its way onto Nico's face, only to be wiped away again. Nico was trying to suppress his emotions. Will sighed, but continued, his fingers still positioned under Nico's chin. "It's okay, Nico. Now, are you going to tell me what your nightmare was about?" At that, Nico tore his chin from Will's grasp and continued to stay at the tiles.

"It was nothing." Will fought the urge to laugh.

"Don't lie to me, Nico. It was obviously nothing because you tried to hurt yourself."

"Why do you even care?" Nico's voice sounded raw with emotion. Will sighed and tried to brush the hair from Nico's eyes, but he flinched back.

"Because you are my friend." Nico spluttered at the word, Will guessed because he had not heard it very often. The two boys lapsed into silence until Will spoke again.

"Well, you cannot keep these memories repressed, acting like they don't exist, because they do and they are tormenting you. So, I propose something," Nico's eyes flickered up, curiosity filling them. "Since, you refuse to talk to anyone about it, anytime you have a nightmare, or want to hurt yourself, you need to use a journal or sketchbook and write or draw whatever set you off or what the memory was. It would be a good way for you to stop repressing your memories." Nico's eyes dropped again as he thought about this. He looked back up, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Are you going to read what I wrote or look at what I drew?" I Will considered this. He had to know what was going on in Nico's head so he could help him start to let go of it.

"I know it's your private business, but I need to see it, Nico. I need to see it so I can help you start to heal." He stopped for a second and another idea popped into his head. "And maybe, even though you won't talk to me about it, you can talk to Percy or Annabeth about it." Nico looked alarmed at the thought and Will rushed to reassure him. "But, if you are uncomfortable with that, you don't have to do that. It is up to you. It's just an option, if you are getting sick of me and want someone to talk to."

"I could never get sick of you," Nico muttered so quietly that he did not expect Will to hear him. Will felt touched at the statement. It was the first compliment he had ever been given from the son of Hades. Nico looked at him, with guilt flooding his eyes. "I- I just wanted to say, that that stuff I said to you a couple of weeks ago. About you not being a good healer, I did not mean it. I was trying to hurt you, to get you to leave me alone, but I went too far, and it did not work anyway. And... It is not true at all. You somehow manage to help me a little bit." Will felt the surge of sadness and guilt. But Nico had been right, he was not a good healer. He had let so many people die under his care. He looked to the floor and it was Nico's turn to force his chin up, so he was looking into Nico's eyes. Sincerity flooded from the depths of Nico's onyx eyes. "I'm being serious. You are a great healer. And no one who died under you; that was not your fault. It was just their time to go." Will looked at Nico, incredulously. How did he know that that is what I was thinking about?

"I knew because of the look you got on your face. The guilt and sadness." Will must have said the last bit aloud. "And I saw the scars on your wrist." Will looked down at his hand and tugged his cord bracelets down them to hide his scars. Nico stopped him and removed the bracelets exposing the thin, barely their scars that lined Will's wrist. It was not as bad as Nico's, but they were still there. Every time Will had lost a person that he was supposed to be healing, he added another scar, but they were so light, and Will had hidden them well that no one ever saw them. Except for Nico. Nico was examining his wrist. "I noticed these on one of the nights when you fell asleep in the infirmary. Why do you feel the need to do this to yourself?" Will felt a surge of anger at the son of Hades. How hypocritical was Nico being, when these same scars lined his entire body? But then, his anger melted, and he just felt shame. He hurt himself. The very thing that he had told Nico not to do. "Will?" He looked back into Nico's eyes. He suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to get this off his chest.

"They are for each of the patients I have lost, which, as you can see, are a great deal. I knew I shouldn't do it, but the guilt-" he let that hang in the air before continuing. "I let them down. I let them die. I did not try my hardest. I should have worked harder, spent more hours in the infirmary." Sobs began to work their way out. "I could have tried harder! I am a horrible healer if I cannot even save them. Their deaths weigh down on me every day, and they remind me that I am not GOOD ENOUGH!" He tried to stand to get away, but Nico dragged him back down, his hands latched onto each of Will's arms.

"Listen to me," Will tried to interrupt and get again, but Nico locked a tight grip on him. "I said listen to me!" This shocked Will into silence. "You are plenty good enough. You lost some people, but so had every demigod that has ever existed! Every demigod had someone on their record that they felt was their fault that they died and you being a healer has more than most people! But none of their deaths was their fault. You did everything you could, but my dad just decided it was time for them to go."

"I'm a son of Apollo," Will sobbed. "I should have saved them. It's my fault-"

"It's not your fault! And I bet you that they would say the same. And just think of how many people you have saved. Including me." Silence filled the bathroom, only disturbed by the sobs lessening from Will. Nico looked like he was debating something. Then his eyes cleared as if he had decided. "How about this, since you have taken care of me, you let me take care of you. How about when I am healthy enough, I go to the Underworld and talk to your lost patients. I could ask them how they are and if they blame you." Will felt touched.

"You would do that for me?" Nico nodded.

"I would do anything for you. You saved my life." Nico reached down and grabbed Will's exposed wrist. He gently brought it up and placed a gentle kiss on it. His next words were spoken against Will's wrist. "Now let me save you." Will shuddered. Nico gently placed his hand back in his lap and took his hand off Will's arm. Will lurched forward, bringing Nico into a hug. Nico tensed, but then relaxed into it, bringing his arms around Will. He eventually broke off the hug. He stood offering a hand to Nico. Nico accepted it and Will pulled him to his feet.

"C'mon, let's get some more sleep." Nico looked reluctant.

"Will you stay with me?" Nico said quietly. Will smiled and spoke.

"Always." Nico crawled back into his bed and Will sat upright, next to him, with his back against the headboard. Nico struggled to get comfortable. He eventually settled down, but his breathing showed Will that he was not asleep. He brought his hand to Nico's back and began drawing shapes into it. He softly began humming and Nico slowly fell into a deep sleep. Will moved to go back to his bunk, but sleep claimed him before he could move.


	20. Memories

Nico's POV:

Nico woke up, feeling more comfortable and safer than ever before. He wanted to go back to bed and started snuggling back into his pillow. Only then did he realize that it was not a pillow. He opened his eyes to find his head was on a Camp Half-Blood shirt. And under that, he could feel a muscular chest. He looked up and found himself trapped in Will Solace's blue orbs. Will smiled at him.

"Good morning." Nico smiled and mumbled a response back into Will's chest. He merely settled more comfortably on Will's chest. He then realized what he was doing. His eyes shot open and he struggled away from the son of Apollo. And he accidentally fell off the bed. He hit the ground, hard and started seeing stars.

"Nico?!" He heard Will call out and watched as the son of Apollo put his knees on either side of his body, to try to see if Nico was okay. "Are you okay?" Nico nodded and regretted it. His head was pounding.

He stayed on the floor with Will hovering above him for about ten minutes as the pain started to recede. He opened his eyes and founded that his vision was not laced with black. He propped himself up and saw the position he and Will had taken. If someone were to walk in, Will and Nico would look very compromising. And, because the Fates loved to screw with Nico, walk-in someone did. The cabin door flew open and a figure was outlined in sunlight.

"Hey, Nico, are you awake- Oh my gods!" Jason's face was a mixture of horror and shock. He then flushed a deep red. "I'll just- I'll just leave you guys alone." He quickly closed the door. Nico groaned and quickly got to his feet. He pushed the cabin door open and followed Jason.

"Jason, wait! That wasn't what you thought it was!" Jason stopped. He turned to face Nico, his face still red with embarrassment.

"What it looked like is that Will was there for more than just watching you," Jason's face took one of concern as he tried to put his hand on Nico's shoulder. "Are you okay?" Nico shrugged his handoff. "Did he try to take advantage of you?"

"Oh, my gods, no!"

"Because I swear if he did-"

"Gods, Jason, will you just listen to me?" Jason lapsed into silence. "I fell and Will was just making sure I was okay. That is all that was. Geez," Jason nodded, but he still looked wary, as if he didn't believe Nico. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get changed."

"I'll wait for you." They walked back up to the Hades cabin. Will was standing on the front porch, his hand behind his head, scratching it nervously.

"Hey, Jason. That wasn't what it-" he was cut off by Jason holding a hand up.

"Nico told me nothing happened, but if you ever try to take advantage-"

"Jason!" Nico's face was reddening.

"-or hurt him, I will kill you."

"Geez, nothing happened." Nico glared at Jason. Will looked a little apprehensive of the son of Jupiter. But Jason glared at Will and looked cheerily at Nico.

"So, you ready for breakfast?

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The next three days passed almost without great incident. Nico trained all day and built his strength up so he could try to start searching for Leo and Calypso again. Will had given him a notebook and sketch pad so he could try to stop suppressing memories and so he did not have to talk about it. At night, Will always stayed with him in the Hades cabin. He prevented Nico from hurting himself. Nico had taken a great liking to write in the notebook and sketching out what he saw. He did it mechanically, almost like he was not actually there when he did it. He trusted Will enough to allow him to look at his notebook and sketchbook. He watched as Will read what he wrote and saw what he drew, and a look of horror always crossed his face. Nico always thought it was aimed at him, but Will reassured him that it was aimed at the fact that Nico had gone through all this alone. Will then spend hours discussing what happened, though Nico never said anything. He had grown to trust the healer. His feelings began to bloom for Will as well, though he kept that under the radar because he still did not know how Will felt about him.

An incident did occur during breakfast. It started as a normal day at camp. Jason and Percy were fighting over who was more powerful. The whole day, and the previous night, Jason and Percy had been using each other's powers against each other. Jason had been doused with water more times than he cared to admit, and Percy's clothing was singed. Nico had to admit it was childish, but it was fun to watch.

That morning, however, Jason and Percy had gone a little too far. Percy had sat close to Nico during breakfast and was talking adamantly about the fact that he thought he was more attractive than Jason. Nico opened his to tell Percy to shut up but was interrupted by a flash of lightning that hit the bench, inches away from Nico. Nico jumped in alarm and memory from ages ago was triggered. He had seen this memory in a vision his father had shown him ages ago, but he was now experiencing the real thing.

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He was chasing Bianca around a couch in a luxurious hotel. He noticed his father, gesturing widely as he explained something to his mother. His mother got up to walk away, but he was too intent on chasing his sister to care. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. He stopped and so did Bianca. He smelled ozone in the air and his father screamed "No!" as he launched towards him and Bianca, encasing them in a black wall of energy. Nico shielded his eyes with his arms as a bright light filled up the room and a blast rocked the building. When the light had stopped, the debris settled, Nico looked up to find that there was a circle around him and Bianca where none of the debris had fallen in. He noticed that his father was off in the distance holding something in his arms. He and Bianca inched forward to see what it was. He felt himself gasp as he realized who it was. It was his mama. He felt a sob building in his throat.

—---------------------------------------------------

He tore himself out of the memory to find that no time had passed. Percy was asking him something, a concerned expression knitted on his face, but it will like the world was muted. Jason had run up and was asking if he was okay. Nico started shaking as the memory crushed him. It was the first full memory he had gained back after being dipped in the Lethe. He started breathing heavily. He saw Percy's face tighten with alarm as he screamed something that Nico read on his lips. Will. Percy reached out and touched his shoulder, but Nico wretched it away. No. Nobody was going to get him. He felt himself shout "Go away!"

He tried to control his breathing, but it was not working. He crouched down his head in his hands, trying to block his memories. He felt a hand on his shoulder and dark energy ran through him and to the person who was touching him. They were thrown back, but that did not stop them.

Suddenly, there were hands pulling his. Will Solace's face have showed up in front of him and was saying something to Nico? He could not hear him, but Will's presence, though Nico could tell that he was concerned, calmed Nico down. The memories started to fade as he came out of his panic attack. The voices telling him that he should have died in that attack from Zeus faded and was just background noise. Will's voice finally broke through.

"Nico, Nico! It is okay! Just focus on my voice." Will brought his hand up to Nico's shoulder. Nico saw red on it. He grabbed Will's arm before he could touch him and turned it over. Blood was gushing from a scrap along his arm. One that had not been there a couple of minutes ago. Will took his arm back. "Nico, it's fine. I'm fine." That is when Nico realized that Will had been the one to put his hand on his shoulder. Nico had sent his dark energy and thrown him off. He had hurt Will! How could he hurt Will? He started breathing heavily again and Will saw his face lined with guilt. "Nico, I'm fine! It's just a scratch."

"I hurt you," Nico whispered, looking at his hands.

"Nico, look at me! You did not hurt me. I'm fine." He went to put his hands-on Nico, but Nico flinched back.

He got to his feet and Will got up too. He held his hand out, trying to show Nico that he was not going to hurt him. Nico made the decision to run and Will saw that on his face. He reached out saying "No!" But Nico was already gone. The crowd that had surrounded the two boys parted as Nico ran through. He sprinted across the camp lawn, tears threatening his eyes. He ran to his cabin and slammed against his door, fumbling with the knob. For some reason, it was not opening. Nico started to panic and tried harder to get inside. Using his shoulder, he forced the door open and shut it behind him.

He grabbed a hidden blade. He wanted to hurt himself. He wanted to feel the blade tear into his skin. But he knew if he did, Will would not forgive him. He started pacing, trying to decide what to do. He lurched for his sketchbook and flipped it open on his bunk. He sat on the floor and started sketching the hotel debris as he remembered it. He heard a pounding on the door. He gripped the blade more tightly.

"Go away!" His voice sounded raw with grief. He heard the door swing slowly open. "No!" He yelled, throwing his head into his arms so whoever was coming in would not see him like this. "Leave me alone!" He felt a presence standing behind him. Will's voice filled the room.

"Nico? Are you okay?" He felt Will crouch down next to him. Will knew better than to touch him at a time like this.

"Leave me alone!" Nico said into his arms.

"We just want to make sure you're okay." We? Nico thought. He raised his head a little and turned it to see that Percy and Jason had come in with Will. Both of their faces were lined with worry. Nico buried his face back into his arms. Will spoke again. "Can I see your sketchbook? Then maybe we can talk about what happened," Nico did not say anything, which Will took as a response. He slid the book out from Nico's arms to look at it. He dropped it, exposing a different page. Percy gasped.

"Is that... Where do I think it is? Nico is that..." Nico cut him off.

"It's exactly where you think it is." He lifted his head to see Percy put his hand over his mouth, memories from his experience seeping in.

He grabbed the sketchbook and started flipping through the pages. Will was going to stop him, but Nico said he had a right to look. The pages were filled with sketches from Tartarus. And Percy recognized all of them. As he looked through them, a look of sheer horror took residence on his face and his eyes were broken. Nico could see the memories recalling in Percy's mind. When an image of Damascus hut showed up, Percy let the book fall from his hands. He sat down on the floor, putting his head in his hands.

"You see it every night too, don't you Percy?" Nico asked and Percy nodded.

"I didn't think I would ever see that place, besides memories, but what you drew- that is Tartarus." The word hung in the air and Jason put his hand on Percy's shoulder. They all stayed silent for a few moments before Will broke it.

"What happened, Nico? What did you see?" Nico shook his head and pointed to the sketchbook. Will picked it up and sat down beside Nico. He flipped to the most recent page and looked at it. He could not figure out what it was, but Percy, who had emerged from his hands, made a noise of recognition. He slid over to Will's other side, looking at the page.

"Is that the hotel?"

Nico nodded. "How did you know about that?"

Percy looked sheepish. "A while back I had a dream and I watched as your father showed you this vision. But... Why did you react to it the way you did? You've seen this before."

"I experienced the memory." Percy looked confused. "My memories that were wiped in the Lethe are starting to come back. And I relieved that experience." Percy looked at Nico in sorrow. Will and Jason looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"A memory got triggered for Nico."

"By what? My lightning?" Nico nodded at Jason's question.

"What happened?" Percy moved to explain, but Nico said no.

"Nico, we need to know what happened." Nico sighed, regretting what he was about to do.

"I'll tell you." Will looked shocked. And for good reason. Nico had not ever talked about any of his flashbacks or nightmares. He merely drew them or wrote down details from them. But he had never talked about anything before. This was a big step for Nico. Not only was he opening to Will, but also to Jason and Percy. All three boys stood up straighter as Nico began explaining what happened. All three demigods sat in silence absorbing Nico's words. Their faces changed from confusion to alarm to sorrow and horror. When he was finished speaking, Jason looked murderous.

"My father did this to you? He killed your mother?!" Nico nodded, sadly. Will noticed and grabbed his hand. Jason noticed and looked at Nico's hands. "Nico, is that blood?"

He looked down at the hand that was still gripping the razor. Schist. He had forgotten he was holding it and has gripped it tightly for his entire story. He opened his palm, revealing the blade. Will sucked in a breath and plucked the blade out of Nico's hand, giving Nico a disappointed and sad look. He got up and started to the bathroom to get a bandage. Nico scrambled up after him.

"No, wait! Will, I didn't mean to!" He stepped in front of Will. " I really didn't mean to! It was an accident!" But Will had sidestepped him and walked into the bathroom. Will did not believe Nico!

He returned with rubbing alcohol and a white bandage. He would not meet Nico's eyes as he sat him on the bed and got on his knees in front of him. Nico hissed as the alcohol stung his skin, but Will did not apologize like he usually did. He wrapped the bandage tightly around Nico's hand and scrubbed the rest of the blood away. He got up to store his stuff and emerged, still not meeting Nico's eyes. "It was an accide-" But, Will cut him off, his eyes finally looking into Nico's. Nico saw they were laced with sadness and guilt as well as disappointment.

"Why, Nico? I thought we agreed that you would not do that anymore! You said that you wouldn't," Will's voice was rising and falling with emotion.

"I didn't mean to-"

"If you wanted to hurt yourself, you should have waited for me so I could help you not to!" Will's eyes were flashing with guilt as if he thought it was his fault that Nico had hurt himself.

"I didn't mean-"

"But you did! You cut yourself! And you have been so good. I thought I had helped you- what possessed you to hurt your-" Anger flared inside Nico.

"It was an accident! But when I got back in here and realized I had hurt you... I wanted to hurt myself because I hurt you!" Will bit his lip.

"But you didn't hurt me. It was an accident!"

"I still caused you harm, Will and that makes me horrible! That's why I wanted to hurt myself."

"Nico, you don't need to hurt yourself because of me. Because you accidentally hurt me. I'm fine and it hurts me more to know that you want to hurt yourself because of me." Nico walked away from Will, leaving the son of Apollo's hand hovering in midair.

"Well, that makes me feel loads better."

"Nico-" he moved to get on the other side of Nico so he could see his face.

"No!" Nico whipped around. "I don't want to cause you pain anymore. So, you can just leave!" Will did not budge. Neither did Jason and Percy would have watched the argument with dropped jaws. Nico forgot that Percy did not know about his self-harm.

"Nico, we aren't leaving," Will said. This launched Nico into action.

"Fine! Fine!" He grabbed his sword and his already-packed backpack (he had been planning to search for Leo that night) "I'll leave then. Maybe then, I won't cause you as much harm." He backed into the shadow-filled corner of the room. "If I'm gone you won't have to worry about me anymore!" Will's face dropped into one of horror as he realized what Nico was about to do. He reached out to Nico screaming, "Nico!" But Nico had already been whisked away.


	21. Running

Will's POV:

"Schist!" He screamed in frustration. He punched the wall where Nico had disappeared. He took a deep breath and turned around to face Percy and Jason. They were standing and looked shocked at Will's reaction. They had never seen him get so angry. "Sorry. I should have known that he would have run."

Jason rushed to reassure him. "It wasn't your fault. Nico is not exactly stable right now. You couldn't have known what would have set him off."

"But I should have. I know how Nico is and I should have known what would have set him off. I am his healer for gods' sake. I should have calmed him down! If he turns into a shadow or gets hurt, then it's my fault!"

"That is really not going to help get Nico back. And if he is in danger, then we should be out there searching for me. Now, are you going to help or standing there moaning about how it is your fault?" Jason asked, his eyes flashing. Will opened his mouth to speak but was cut off. "That's what I thought. Now, c'mon. We need to find him."

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Nico's POV:

Nico pulled himself from the shadows. It had been three days since escaping from Camp Half-Blood and he had spent most of it in the Underworld. He gasped as he tried to get his breathing under control. He looked around. He realized that he was in Central Park, daylight bleeding into the sky. Not where he intended to go, but anything was better than Camp now. He decided that once he returned Leo to Camp Half-Blood, he would not be returning himself, even if Will was there. He understood that he did not belong and needed to go off on his own. He strolled through the park and nobody seemed to think that it was strange that he was a teenager carrying a huge sword. Thank the gods for the Mist. He got out of the park to avoid any monsters. He walked into the city, dodging pedestrians and taxis.

He ducked into a coffee shop and slid into an empty booth. A waitress came up to up and asked what he wanted. He merely said black coffee and she smiled and said she would be right back. Nico watched her leave and then looked back to the booth. He barely prevented himself from jumping when he saw that a figure was sitting across from him.

"Hello, Ghost King," the man said. Looking more closely, Nico saw that it was a ghost. One of the ones who had helped him pin down Leo's location in Canada when he had been there.

"Hello again. Have any more information about Leo Valdez?" The ghost grinned and looked down at his fingers.

"That depends, what are you offering?" Nico slid his sword on the table.

"How about I let you leave here without using this?" The ghost looked alarmed at the blade as he knew what it could do.

"Of course, my lord, anything you say." He sounded terrified. Nico smiled, pleased that the ghost had understood its place.

"Now, do you have any information regarding Leo Valdez?" The waitress reappeared with Nico's coffee. She put it on the table and Nico wrapped his hands around it.

"Yes, my lord. From my sources, he is currently in a World called Walt Disney." Nico thought about this. Of course, Leo would think it would be a good idea to take his girlfriend, who had not seen the world for eons, to Disney World. His inner musings were interrupted by an Iris-Message appearing before him. Hazel's face popped up and her face broke into a smile upon seeing Nico's face.

"Nico! How are you?" She looked at his surroundings. "Where are you?" Nico was surprised to see her.

"Hey, Hazel. How did you get the call through? You didn't know my location." He said warily. It was necessary to know where someone was before calling them. Hazel waved his question off.

"There was this girl named Fleecy who worked with Iris and she said she could connect us with anyone at any time... Anyway, where are you? That's not Camp Half-Blood."

"I'm in the city right now." He decided to give her that information, to quench her questions, but nothing more specific in case Will went snooping and asked Hazel if he had seen Nico. It did not matter that much though; Nico would be gone within the hour.

"Are you with anyone?" Nico looked across the table at the still-present ghost who waved at Nico.

"No, I'm alone."

"Why are you in the city?" Nico evaded the question.

"Why are you calling, exactly? Not that it is not great to see you, but why?"

"We hadn't talked in a while, and I couldn't fall back asleep, I mean it is 4 in the morning here, so I wanted to see how my brother was. Why are you avoiding my question? Are you in trouble?"

"No, of course not! I just snuck out of camp because I needed a break, that's all."

"Without permission? And at this time in the morning?"

"Hazel, it's fine. I can take care of myself-" Nico said, exasperated.

"-Not the past couple of weeks." That struck a nerve.

"Hazel," he said a warning tone in his voice.

"I'm just trying to look out for you Nico."

"How's Camp Jupiter?" Hazel must have understood that he was not going to answer her questions because she dropped the topic.

She launched into a crazy description of the events of the past few weeks at the Roman Camp. As she was telling him a story about Hannibal being in love with Frank when he had accidentally turned into an elephant. She was interrupted by her door slamming open. She and Nico both jumped, and Reyna came into Hazel's room. Nico could barely see her on the outline of the Iris- message and she could not see him as she was too distracted about what she had to tell Hazel.

"Centurion, pack your things. We are going to Camp Half-Blood." Before Hazel could even ask why she continued. "Nico's been missing for three days, and they just decided to tell us about it. At 4 in the morning. He was pretty shaken up when he left. He left no trace, and they are concerned that he isn't coming back." Hazel's eyes widened as she looked back at Nico. She pointed the message out to Reyna. She hurried to Hazel's side.

"Nico? Thank the gods, where have you been?! Where are you? The campers at Camp Half-Blood are looking for-" Nico waved a hand through the message, cutting her off.

He thanked the ghost for the information and slapped a twenty on the table. He needed to get going. Hazel knew he was in the city, but that was the only information he had given her. With his head down, he elbowed his way through the New York streets. He gasped as someone ran into him and fell to the ground. He was about to walk away when he saw who it was who he had knocked down.

"Mrs. Jackson?" He hastily helped her to stand. Of all the people in New York, he of course had to run into someone he knew. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, but are you? You looked like you are running from something. Are you in trouble? Why aren't you at camp?" She was perceptive, Nico gave her that.

"I'm fine, I was just exploring the city..."

"How about you come to the apartment with me? You can take a break and tell me what's really going on." Nico slowly backed away.

"No, it's fine. I'll just be going." He turned and ran. He ducked into an alleyway and Sally walked right past him. He watched as she pulled out a cellphone. She dialed a number and held it to her ear.

"Percy, hi! I know it is early, and I know you told me to call only if it was an emergency, but it is one... I just saw Nico di Angelo running down the street... He looked like he was trying to escape from someone... Last thing I saw he was headed in the direction of Central Park..." She pulled the phone away and looked at it. "Well, fine, hang up on me; I'm only your mother!"

She continued down the street, calling Nico's name. Nico waited until she was out of earshot to take off down the street. He headed towards Central Park. He knew that's where Percy was headed, but the entrance to the Underworld was there as well and he could not afford to shadow jump at the time.

He entered the Park but stopped dead in his track as he felt a shiver down his spine. He whipped around to see Percy melting into existence with Mrs. O'Leary. His face widened in surprise as he saw Nico. Apparently, he did not believe that he had found the son of Hades so quickly. He slid off the hellhounds back and slowly walked towards Nico.

"Nico, you've had us worried sick."

"I would say I'm sorry, but that is a lie." Nico snapped.

Percy's eyes narrowed, noticing Nico's tone. "Why don't you come back to camp and we can talk about it?"

"No, I'm not going back to camp. All I do is cause people harm. I'm not doing that anymore." As he spoke, he failed to notice how close Percy was getting. "So just leave me alone!" At that, Percy launched himself forward, tackling Nico to the ground. Nico hit the ground hard and choked as the breath was knocked out of him.

"Don't run, Nico. We just want you to know that we care for you. We want to protect you. You are hurting yourself and need to stop!" Percy had pinned Nico's arms down, and Nico was struggling to move. He felt a surge of power and threw Percy off him, summoning some skeletons to help him. "Oh, so we are doing this now?" Percy shouted as the skeletons came at him.

He drew Riptide and began slicing the skeletons, like butter, but they kept reforming. Percy summoned a wave from a nearby pond, dousing Nico and his skeletons with water. Nico felt more enraged, so more skeletons broke through the surface. There were too many for Percy to handle. They overpowered him. The skeletons must have been reading Nico's emotions because they tried to drag Percy underground. When Nico saw that Percy was struggling to breathe and that his warriors were hurting him, he screamed for them to stop. They obliged and Percy was let go, gasping. Blood ran down his arm. Nico had hurt another one of his friends. Percy had been hurt because of him.

"I'm sorry!" Nico gasped. Percy looked down at his arm and realized what Nico was apologizing for.

"It's fine! I am fine! Don't run-" But Nico was already out of earshot. He muttered a command and the rock to the Underworld slid open. He slipped inside, the rock blocking out the sunlight.

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Percy's POV:

Percy was beyond mad and unbelievably worried. He had spent the last three days looking for Nico. Once Hazel had called and said he was in New York, and his mother called him as well, he set off immediately for Central Park. And once he had found Nico, the son of Hades had gotten away. Perfect. Percy was angry. He had just been humiliated in a fight against Nico. And then, he failed to realize how stupid he had been to challenge Nico, as the son of Hades was not strong enough yet. He was currently pacing back and forth in front of the Underworld entrance with Mrs. O'Leary, who was asleep, unable to travel now. Percy knew that a team of demigods were on their way to the city so, if Percy had successfully apprehended Nico, they could bring him back to camp. Percy phoned the van. Annabeth answered on the second ring.

"Do you have him?"

"No."

"Percy! What did you do?" Annabeth admonished.

"He was trying to get away and we started using our powers against each other and he beat me. And managed to get into the Underworld. Which I can't get into because I taxed out Mrs. O'Leary." Annabeth cursed and explained, rapid-fire, to Will. Percy heard muffled cursing and Annabeth spoke again.

"We will be there in two minutes. And maybe we can get into the Underworld." With that, she hung up. Percy stowed the phone back into his pocket. He prayed that his phone call would not alert any monsters. He continued pacing until help arrived.


	22. Discovery

Nico's POV:

Nico had listened to Percy go over what was happening on the phone. When he realized that other demigods were on their way, Nico decided to seal off the entrance so they would not be able to enter. Dark spots dotted his vision, but he shook them off and made the descent into the Underworld.

Nico plodded down the narrow stairs, almost slipping a couple of time. He really needed to sleep. Accustom to the dark, he could still barely see anything in front of him. He continued down the narrow steps until he finally heard the Styx. He emerged at the base of a cliff, on black, volcanic sand. To his right, the river Styx gushed its toxic waters while the fires burned on the ramparts of Erebos to the left. Home Nico thought drearily.

Nico kicked up sand as he made his way towards his father's kingdom. He passed through the kingdom's gates without problem, some spirits kneeling before him, recognizing he was the Ghost King. He disregarded them and continued through his father's realm. He saw Cerberus, who whimpered expectantly as him, expecting to be played with.

"Not today, boy. I'm just too tired" he muttered as he passed the three-headed Rottweiler. The security ghouls acknowledged him as he walked through the Fields of Asphodel. He walked, ignoring the lost souls wandering.

After twenty minutes, he finally came up on his father's palace. Even if his friends tried to get down in the Underworld (which they likely would be unable to do as Nico had sealed that entrance) they would not be able to enter Hades' Palace. Nico pushed open the doors to the entrance of the palace. As he walked through the entrance hall, he planned just to slip into the kitchen and eat, then go to his room and sleep for a couple of hours. His plans were foiled as he tried to tiptoe past the throne were and was stopped by his father's voice booming out.

"Nico!" Schist. He straightened and walked into the throne room. Hades was lounging in his throne, Persephone sitting on the arm of it. Persephone gave him a death glare and Nico merely sneered at her. His father cleared his throat and Nico kneeled, before looking towards his father.

"Were you thinking about coming home without saying hello?"

"I would prefer him not to come home."

"Persephone!" Hades warned.

"Look, if you are just going to argue, I can leave. Is there any reason you called me in here father?" Nico asked, exasperated.

Hades looked affronted to have been told off by his son but continued. "Yes, what was your motive for sealing off Orpheus's entrance?" Nico struggled to think of an excuse.

"I was being chased by some... rogue spirits and just barely escaped them..." Nico knew the excuse was feeble and apparently his father thought so too as he narrowed is eyes.

"Rogue spirits? You have brought down Titans, and cannot handle rogue spirits? The so-called 'Ghost King'?" That struck a nerve for Nico.

"No, sir. I've overtaxed myself shadow-traveling, so I didn't want to overexert myself-"

"That's never stopped you before."

"I- I-"

"Why not just use that one friendly hellhound you have at camp, so you don't overexert yourself?"

"I didn't think of that, sir." Nico looked down at his shoes. Hades whistled and Mrs. O'Leary materialized in the throne room. Good Nico thought At least Percy cannot get down here.

"And, since you can't handle these pesky spirits, maybe I should just send a group of guards to take them out." Nico's eyes shot up in alarm.

"No, father!" Nico could not risk his friends being attacked by Underworld guards. His father smiled coolly.

"But why not? You said yourself you could not handle them. I am happy to offer my services."

"They weren't spirits-"

"They were your friends, I know. I am God of the Underworld. I see all that happens in my realm. Your deception shows that you were running from them and are ashamed. My question is why?" Nico was at a loss for words. "I'm waiting."

"I- I don't think that is any of your business." Nico stuttered out. Persephone gasped.

"How dare you speak to your father that way. Show some respect to your-"

Hades held up a hand. "Persephone, leave us."

She looked indignant. "But-"

"Leave!" He said forcefully, eyes flaming. With a look of disgust, she vanished. Hades fixed his eyes on Nico. "Now, tell me what is happening."

"Why should I?" Nico knew this was risky, but he was honestly too exhausted to care. "You've never been there for me and just decide to know?"

"I'm trying, Nico!" Anger filled his voice, but the god quickly cooled himself down. "If you aren't going to tell me, I'm just going to have to find out this information on my own." Hades flicked his hand and an orb appeared in the center of the room. A scene was playing on it and Nico realized that it was his friends trying to break into the Underworld. Percy and Jason were pushing the rock. After a minute of struggling, Percy spoke.

"It's no use. We have been trying for an hour. I do not think we are going to be able to get down there. Could Hazel shadow-travel down?" The orb shifted to show Hazel, Reyna, Will, and Frank off to the side. Nico's heart jumped when he saw Will. He was leaning over Hazel, checking her pulse. Hazel was on the ground, her head in Frank's lap. Will looked up at Percy's words.

"She overexerted herself jumping to here from Camp Jupiter. There is no telling when she will be conscious or ready to jump again."

"I don't want her to hurt herself! She is not jumping again for the next couple of days!' Frank's eyes were bright with concern. Nico watched as Will stood up and straightened.

"There's nothing we can do," Jason muttered. Will was murmuring under his breath. He walked over to the rock and, to everyone's surprise, punched it. Nico winced as he heard the bones break and the loud gasp of his friends.

"Gods damn it, Nico. Why did you have to run? Come back." Will breathed against the rock, fighting back tears.

He went in for another punch, but Jason pulled him back. Nico stepped closer to the orb, unaware of what he was doing. Will. Will fought against Jason, but Jason managed to pin his arms down. After a minute, Will stooped resisting and collapsed onto the ground, kneeling. A sigh went through everyone and Jason crouched down next to Will. He spoke in a low tone so only Will could hear.

"I'm sorry, Will. I know how much he means to you. And he will come back eventually. He just needs some time," Jason stood, his hand on Will's shoulder. "I'm so sorry. But there isn't anything we can do right now." Jason walked away to round everyone back onto the van. Will looked up, right at Nico.

"Oh, Nico..." He was about to say something else, but Nico had seen enough. He waved his hand through the scene and the image was disturbed and cut off. He sneaked a glance at his father, would had watched everything unfold. His hands were folded under his chin in concentration. He considered Nico.

"Why run from them? They seem to care about you a lot. Unless... that Will character. You are ashamed about how you feel about him?" Nico said nothing, which Hades took as an answer. "Well, I can tell you that I have had flings with men back in my day. Don't mention it to Persephone, but it really is nothing to be asham-" Nico interrupted.

"Please don't. I really do not want to know about your past relations, father. And I really do not wish to discuss this matter with you, so if you excuse me, I will be in my room. Sir." He added as an afterthought. Hades must have realized he was not getting anything out of his son, but he dismissed him.

"Do try and get some rest, Nico. We would not want you to exhaust yourself. And your friends with the dragon are still in that Park that your informant told you about this morning and that they plan to stay there for the rest of the day and most of the night."

"Thank you, father. Is that all?"

"Yes, you are excused." Nico pivoted and walked towards the exit. "And Nico, believe me, you really have nothing to be asham-" His voice was cut off by the loud thud of the doors closing.

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Nico melted into existence. He looked around to find himself in the middle of Disney World. He stumbled as he pulled himself out of the shadow. The spirits had called to him again and he looked at his hands. They were turning wispy. Will had been right; he was too weak to shadow travel. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He could worry about his form once he completed his mission.

After sleeping (luckily without nightmares) for sixteen hours, Nico had awoken, eaten some food, and prepared himself to jump. He had first shadow travelled to the parking lot and found Festus snoozing in the lot designated for a park called Magic Kingdom. The park was eerie at night, with no tourists in sight. It was quiet as well. Nico started along the pathways, looking for any evidence of Leo.

Suddenly, an excited scream broke through the silence of the night as machinery started up. Nico whipped around to see the ride called Thunder Mountain light up. He jogged over to the attraction and entered the gates that had already been picked. He walked through the line and made it to the loading point of the ride. He took one look at the control panel and knew that Leo had messed with it. Listening to the excited screams issuing from the cart, he could hear Leo's voice and a very feminine voice telling him he was being childish. He guessed that that was Calypso. He leaned back against the railing, crossing his arms as he waited for Leo and Calypso to return.

He looked up as the track rattled and the cart pulled into the loading bay. Leo looked just as he did before he left. His eyes were sparkling with excitement and his playful spirit shone through. Calypso, who was sitting next to him, had her arms crossed with an annoyed expression on her face, but Nico saw that her eyes were twinkling with joy. Neither of them noticed Nico as they came to a stop. Nico did tend to blend into the shadows. The bar on their seat came up and Leo jumped out of it.

"WOO! That was awesome! Would you care to go again my fair lady?" Calypso rolled her eyes but did not argue. Leo took that as a yes and bounded over to the control panel. Nico decided to cut in.

"Having fun?" It caused quite the reaction. Leo gasped, spinning around, and pulling a hammer from his belt, and pointing it at Nico. Calypso jumped and her eyes swiveled to where Nico was standing.

"Leo, who is-?"

"Nico?!" Leo broke out into a huge grin. "Aw, man. What are you doing here?" He went to go in for a handshake, but then thought better of it.

"Looking for you," Nico came off of the railing and looked around. "You are not an easy person to find."

Leo had helped Calypso out of the cart and put his hand to the back of his neck, looking sheepish. "I didn't know anyone was looking for me."

"Leo, you've been gone for a month! Everyone thinks that you are dead."

"A month?!" Nico did not say anything, so Leo went on. "And you didn't?"

"I spoke with my father and found out you weren't."

"But you didn't tell anyone?"

"I didn't want to give them false hope. They have been in mourning." Leo smirked.

"I knew they would miss me. After all-" Nico cut him off, anger rising inside him.

"Leo, they think you are dead. Every single one of them are dealing with survivor's guilt. Because of you. You have been dawdling around the world while your friends are grieving for you. You cannot keep letting them think you are dead. Jason lost his best friend, how do you think he is feeling? You owe it to them to tell them you are alive. How dare you just let them believe that all they have done has been for nothing because they lost you. How dare you let them deal with that survivor's guilt?" Nico was breathing heavily with emotion.

Although he personally had not been great friends with Leo before he disappeared, he saw how much it had hurt Jason and how much pain it had caused him. Leo was currently processing what Nico had said and was opening and closing his mouth like a fish. He looked shocked to hear Nico speak so passionately. He also looked guilty, which was what Nico was going for.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Nico was on a roll. "Camp Half-Blood is your home. Those campers are your family. How dare you throw that all away. Now, I expect to see you back at Camp in a day or two. And if I do not, I am going to make you wish Gaea had successfully killed you," Nico turned on his heel, leaving behind a very confused Leo and equally befuddled Calypso. He walked to the wall and melted into the shadows.


	23. Past

Will's POV:

It was 1:30 in the morning. Will was tossing and turning, too distracted by his worry for Nico to sleep. He thought about what had happened earlier in the day. The van had arrived in Central Park and found Percy doing everything he could to get into the entrance. Even though it had been Orpheus's door, no amount of music, whether it be by instrument, voice, or a recording from a phone, could open the door making Will believe that Nico had sealed the entrance. After thirty minutes of trying, Mrs. O'Leary had finally woken up. But just as they were about to ask her to take them down, she stiffened and had jumped into a shadow. As Mrs. O'Leary disappeared, Hazel, Frank, and Reyna had arrived. Soon after landing, Hazel had conked out. After trying to move the rock by sheer force, Percy and Jason had given up and Will had punched the rock in frustration, something he was deeply regretting now. The ambrosia had mended the bones, but it still hurt like Hades.

After another 5 minutes of not falling asleep, he threw the covers off. He carefully pulled on a jacket and silently slipped out of his cabin. He waited until the harpies passed by before sprinting across the lawn to Cabin Thirteen to see if there was any sign of Nico. He creaked the door open. The Greek Fire illuminated the empty room as Hazel was sleeping off her shadow-jumping in the infirmary. He scoured the room for any clues of where Nico could be and found nothing. He sat down on the bed, head in his hands, worried beyond belief. He laid back, inhaling the fading traces of Nico on the bed. What am I going to do?

👅 👅 👅 👅 👅 👅

A door opening is what woke Will. Sunlight filtered into the room as he sat up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes to see Nico entering the cabin. Nico headed to the dresser, not seeing Will. Will was relieved to see him, but anger at the worry Nico had caused him filled his being. He did not say anything, waiting for Nico to see him. He glanced at his watch. 8 am. Nico rummaged around in the drawers, throwing stuff into his bag. He turned to go into the bathroom and ran into the dresser.

"Shit." He muttered under his breath, in pain. Will took this opportunity.

"Shit is right." Nico's head whipped to look at Will. His eyes dilated in panic as he realized who it was. "Where have you been?"

"Out." Nico shortly answered.

"What were you thinking, Nico? You can't keep risking yourself like that." He stood up, crossing his arms. He got no answer. "You can't just run from what scares you or when things get hard or when your emotions get too much-" Nico spluttered as he walked past him. Will grabbed his arm and swung him around. Nico jerked his arm away and faced the healer.

"What scares me? Things get hard?! You do not know a thing about when things get hard. Or when things scare you. You never watched your mother get incinerated in front of you! You never lost your sister after being promised she would be kept alive! You never had to train for hours on end to start to master your powers, almost draining your life force, only to find out that the powers make you an outcast and hated and feared. Or tried everything to find some way to bring your sister back! Hard is realizing that your sister, who you had done everything you could search for, moved on and forgot about you, leaving you no way to ever see her again!" Nico's voice cracked.

Will could see the raw anguish in his eyes and understood that all the stress and pressure was finally getting to Nico and he just broke.

"You don't know what hard is unless your father thinks that you are incompetent. You do not know how to deal with emotions unless you live with a secret that makes you even more ostracized! Makes you an abomination. Makes you fill with self-loathing. Makes you even more alone. Hard is when you are given an impossible task, but you still try to complete it because the fate on the world is on your shoulders."

At some point, Nico started pacing across the room. He had tears shining in his eye, but he refused to let them fall. Though, his emotions were causing his voice to rise and fall.

"And don't even get me started on scared. Scared. Terrified. Absolutely horrified. I have one word...Tartarus. Just the mere sight of that place... the images almost make you go insane...And to have the goddess of misery say you carry so much pain and sorrow... And to be kidnapped by Giants?! And used as a pawn... That kind of fear. That kind of pure terror- it does stuff to you. Stuff that you can't recover from-"

Nico was frantic, gesticulating wildly, not fully in control of his emotions.

"And if Tartarus was not bad enough, you get another impossible task, but is determined to do it because you made a promise! During which you are humiliated and mortified and have your biggest secret ripped from you and revealed..." What secret was Nico talking about? "And then you volunteer to move a colossal statue across the world because you are the only one who can! And to weaken yourself so much that you almost fade into nothing. And hard and fear show up when you are trying to protect someone, and you show the evil side and the dark side and confirm everyone's fears by completely obliterating someone. Just to have all your secrets and darkest thoughts regurgitated again. And then when you eventually come back to the place where you are supposed to be accepted and safe, you screw it up by letting someone destroy themselves. And to still feel alone when everyone tells you you're not. And trying to do what your friends want but cannot because you are incompetent and not strong enough to! And to be terrified of yourself because you cannot control your powers and have uncontrollable panic attacks that pop up at random times so you cannot even have a normal conversation without being triggered. And if that does not seem like enough, then you get plagued by nightmares that are so bad that it is better to stay awake until eventually you literally cannot keep your eyes open and you pass out from exhaustion.

"So yes, Solace, yes, yes! I have every right to run away from my problems and my emotions and when things get hard and scary! You might think that I should be strong enough to handle whatever is thrown at me, but I am not! I am not! I have tried to be, but I cannot. I cannot even stop hurting myself. I have been through so much pain and so much suffering that sometimes I just want to end it!" He ended in a scream. Silence filled the room.

"Nico-" Will breathed.

"So, don't pretend to understand me. Do not pretend like you know what I am going through. Because you do not get it. You may be a damn good healer, but I am too shattered and too broken to be healed!" All the tension and stress seemed to go out of him as he slid down the wall, collapsing onto the floor. Will was silent a moment before walking over to him. He sat next to Nico, his back against the wall.

"I didn't know. I am sorry. I forget how much pain you have suffered in your life." Will whispered. He lightly touched Nico's hand. He flinched away. Will slowly retracted his hand. "It's not fair at all. And what you suffered is unimaginable. But I can tell you one thing. You are not alone. Even if you do not believe it, you have amazing friends and people who care about you. Heck, Reyna, Hazel, and Frank are already here, looking for you. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper were all so frantic when you went missing. And me. I care about you a lot Nico. I would do anything for you. And I will always be here for you." Nico wiped his face clear of any incoming tears and slowly stood.

Suddenly, Will heard a commotion outside. His head whipped towards the window as he walked over to it. He pulled the curtain aside and looked to see campers congregating on the beach.

"What is happening?" He started towards the door and Nico slowly followed. He jogged out of Cabin 13 and towards the beach. He arrived at the edge of the crowd, next to Percy, Annabeth, Jason, and Piper. Reyna, Frank, and Hazel were standing a little way away.

"What is happening?" He repeated, looking at Percy, to see him squinting up at the sky. He looked up, covering the sun with his hand to see a shimmering bronze in the distance.

"One of the Stoll brothers was on scouting duty and they saw whatever that is. We are trying to figure out what it is-" he was cut off by a faraway scream, issuing from the bronze thing in the sky.

"ARGHAGHG-"

"What was that?"

"I'm going to go check it out," Jason said, taking off. He flew until he was a spot of orange in the distance. They waited and heard another scream, closer this time.

"YEAH!"

Piper frowned. "That was Jason. What's he so excited about?" The bronze figure started to take shape. The shape of a dragon. Festus!

He heard Piper gasp and Percy, grinning, say. "That little bastard."

"LEO MCBAD BOY SUPREME IS BACK BABY!" Leo's voice screamed from atop of his dragon. Festus let out a roar, blowing out fire. The whole camp burst into cheers. He started his descent and Will noticed an unknown girl sitting behind him. The crowd had cleared an open space so Festus could land and the six pushed themselves to the inner circle. Jason landed, grinning wildly. Festus hit the ground with a deafening THUNK! and the whole camp was silent. Leo slid off Festus, landing into a crouch, fist sinking into the sand. He slowly got up, and said, with a neutral expression.

"I'm back." The whole camp cheered again. Will watched as Jason ran up to Leo, tackling him in a hug.

"I knew you weren't dead! I just knew it!" Jason's voice could be heard, even though it was muffled in Leo's shirt.

"I'm fine! I am fine! Get off me!" Leo said, but his tone was playful. Jason jumped up and pulled Leo to his feet. Jason put his hand on Leo's shoulder, looking happier than he had in weeks.

"Man, it's great to see y-,"

"LEO FREAKING VALDEZ!" Piper's voice rang out, as she stormed over to Leo.

"Hey, beauty quee-" he was cut off as Piper punched him in the face. "AHHH!" He grabbed his face. "Oh, mother of Zeus! Ow! Gods, where did you learn to punch like that?"

"HOW DARE YOU PULL A STUNT LIKE THAT LEO!" She went in for another punch, but Jason held her arms back. "WE THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"

"Gods, I think I'm bleeding! Am I bleeding?" He touched his jaw in concern. "So much for a warm welcome-"

"Oh, I will show you a warm welcome-" Piper said, trying to free herself of Jason. "JASON! Let me GO!" Will could feel the charm speak resonate on the beach and suddenly Jason released her. She slapped Leo across the face once more. He screamed a few more curses. Piper then wrapped her arms around him in a bear hug.

"Don't you ever do anything like that to me again!" Will could see tears running down her face. Leo, looking a little scared, wrapped his arms around her.

"Never again, beauty queen," His head buried into her shoulder. They stayed like that a minute longer before Piper broke it off.

"And if you ever do," she lunged towards him, and he stumbled back, falling over. Laughs rippled through the crowd. He brushed the sand off himself and cleared his throat.

Percy greeted him with a complicated handshake, saying "Welcome back, man." Annabeth gave him a hug, saying she was glad he was back. Hazel hugged him as well and Frank hugged both, picking them up in a hug, much to everyone's amusement. As everyone started saying their hello's, Leo cleared his throat.

"Yes, yes, I will say hi to all of you eventually, as I know I am extremely popular. But first, you all might be asking 'Valdez, if you incinerated Gaea about a month ago and did not die, why are you just getting back to camp?'" Leo said, pacing. He stopped. "Well, ask and answer you shall receive." He started an announcer's voice. "She's a type of music. She loves long walks on the beach. Coming all the way from Ogygia, may I present the lovely, smoking hot, Calypso!" He gestured to Festus, as a girl slid off his back. Will had heard the tale of Calypso. And he knew that no man ever ground Ogygia twice, so how Leo Valdez had found her, he had no idea. She smiled, grabbing hands with Leo.

"Calypso?" Percy whispered in awe. Percy knew her. Calypso looked towards him, smiling softly, but eyes sad.

"Hello, Percy."

"I- I. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorr-"

"It's okay. I have forgiven you."

"It's- it's great to see you again." Percy stuttered. Percy and Annabeth both had barely noticeable expressions of anger on their face as they looked at Calypso. Will did not know why. An uneasy silence settled over the gathering before Leo broke it.

"Well, that was sufficiently awkward. Leo is back baby! Let us get this party started!" The crowd let out a roar in approval. He laughed and the seven all stood in a loose circle.

"Hold on, hold on, I have some questions." Will stood a little off to the side as Piper voiced a question. "How long did it take to find Calypso?"

Leo sheepishly scratched his head. "I found her about a week after I disappeared. I think. Time works differently on Ogygia." His response caused looks of confusion to cross everyone's faces.

"Why did you decide to come back?" Jason asked.

"A friend gave me a little encouraging," Leo said, answering the second question.

As he spoke, Will noticed Leo's gaze shift over to the side. He followed his gaze and found him staring at Nico who was leaning against a tree, on the outskirts of the crowd. As more questions were asked of Leo, Will made a connection. Nico said he had been doing something important. And Leo mentioned being convinced by a friend. Nico had been searching for Leo. Will pulled himself through the crowd and made his way over to Nico. 


	24. Reunion (last chapter)

Nico's POV:

As Nico watched Leo answer questions, he noticed Will break away from the crowd and walk towards him.

"You did this, didn't you? This is what you were doing? Why were you disappearing?" Nico merely nodded. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Nico cleared his throat, "Didn't want to get anyone's hopes up."

"That's amazing though, Nico. That you would risk yourself to get Leo home." Will said, face in awe.

Nico shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal."

"Nico, that is a big deal. The others deserve to know what you did. And the others are going to want to know that you are back! " Will started back over to tell them, but Nico stopped him.

"Please, Will, just don't. I don't need any extra attention."

"But you did a good thing, Nico. And the others are worried sick about you!" Nico sighed to himself.

"Leo is back, nobody is going to worry about me. Look, they are all happy that Leo's is back, they probably have already forgotten about me."

"That's not true, Nico! Please come and join-"

"Will, can you just leave me alone? I just want some time alone to think." Nico knew his place and realized that he did not belong with the seven or at Camp Half-Blood regardless. And as soon as he could, he would be taking off. He was snapped out of his thoughts as Will sighed, realizing he was fighting a losing battle.

"Fine, but don't runoff. If you try to shadow travel, you will fade away so do not try, okay?" Nico nodded as Will stalked off.

Nico looked to the ground, shaking his hair out. He looked back up to watch Leo interact with the crowd. A crowd that he would never be a part of. He sighed and started to turn away to head back to his cabin. He was interrupted by a voice.

"Feeling left out?" He turned back around to see Drew, an Aphrodite camper. "Feeling excluded?"

"Excuse me?" Nico said. He knew Drew had a tendency to be rude, so he was interested to see where this was going.

"You heard me. You feel excluded. And you are right to feel that way. Because you are."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Nico stated.

"Yes, you do. You feel like you do not belong here. Because you do not. You cause destruction everywhere you go. Death follows you. You are poison to this camp."

Nico could feel his temper rising. "You have no right to s-"

"And if that was not bad enough, you are also an abomination. A disgrace to humanity. You. Are. Disgusting."

"Wha- what are you talking about?" Nico felt his heartbeat quicken.

"You are a monster. Homosexuality is disgusting and sickening. You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" 

It felt as though the ground had been removed from Nico's feet. How did she know? How did she find out?

"Oh, it was easy to find out." Crap he thought I must have said the last bit out loud. "And being a daughter of Aphrodite helps. Watching you trail after Percy all those years was pathetic. Because he would never love you. And now, the way you look at Will is so obvious. And it is absolutely disgusting because it's not like he returns your feelings. He thinks you are a disgrace to demigod name."

"Stop. Stop it, right now!" Nico a panic attack coming on. Disgrace. Disgusting. Abomination.

"You are a monster, who doesn't belong here. So, either leave or kill yourself." His heart stopped and Drew's lips curled up into an evil smile. "That's right, I noticed that you cut yourself as well. You think you are so secretive, but you are an open book. You are weak. And pathetic. And worthless. So, do everyone a favor and go of yourself-"

"SHUT UP!" A wave of emotion and dark energy flowed from Nico and rippled through the crowd.

The crowd stopped talking and everyone turned to face Nico. The judging stares suddenly became too much for Nico. He pushed away from Drew and started a fast walk to his cabin. He was trying to take calming breaths, but it was not working. Drew's words continued running through his mind. He itched to get his hand on a blade. To feel the rip of his skin. And feel the blood running down his arms. To satisfy everyone by just ending it. Nico could feel an oncoming panic attack.

He forced his cabin door open. He started hyperventilating, as he closed the door. He put his forehead against the door, trying to regain his breath. With his hands shaking, he stumbled to his desk. He started pulling open drawers, searching. He threw papers over his shoulder as he looked for a blade. He palmed it and began pacing. He wanted to hurt himself, he wanted to really badly, but he wanted to get out of Camp Half-Blood first. He pulled out a duffle and started shoving clothes inside.

Suddenly, Drew's words rang in his head. Abomination. He reeled back, heart thudding. He gripped the blade tighter and leaned against the wall, eyes sliding shut, tears burning in his eyes. He slid down the wall, sobs ripping from his throat. He could feel the blade biting into his skin, and he welcomed the pain. He heard a knock at the door. He stopped his sobs and croaked out.

"Leave me alone!" He wiped his nose on his sleeve and continued to pack, feeling claustrophobic in his cabin. He heard the door creak open. "No!" He whipped around, facing a surprised Will Solace. "Leave me alone!"

"Like hell, I'm going to do that. What's wrong?"

"Leave me alone!"

"Nico, tell me what's happening!" Will's demand sent Nico over the edge.

"You wanna know what's happening, Solace?! I'm leaving Camp Half-Blood and I am not coming back."

Will's face fell in shock. "What?! You cannot be serious! Why?"

"Because I am a monster. I kill people all the time! Destruction and death wreak havoc wherever I go! I do not belong here! I am sick and a disgrace-"

"What? You are not a disgrace! Why would you think that?"

"Because I am gay!" The confession caused Will to fall silent. "I don't know how Drew found out, but she probably told the entire camp so now I don't belong because I am an abom- abomination! I am attracted to guys rather than girls and I was born in a time where people used to be locked up in an insane asylum for thinking this way!" Nico was pulling at his hair with one hand as if wanting to tear it out. The other hand gripped the blade tightly, as tears poured down his face, blood trickled down his arm. "They tried to cure gay people. As if we have a sickness! I am abnormal and a freak and sickening and worthless and I deserve to die!" Nico's voice cracked on the last word as he slid down the wall.

He started hyperventilating again as the panic settled in. The world muted. He saw Will's concerned face, tightened with alarm, swimming in front of him. Will was saying something, but it was muted. He was trying to force the blade out of Nico's hand, but Nico clenched his hand tighter. Will pried open Nico's clenched hand and withdrew the blade.

"No, no, no!" Nico struggled to get it back. As he struggled, Will disposed of the blade. Nico started whimpering and curled into a ball, huddled against the wall. He just wanted it all to be over. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he flinched away from Will. Will was not deterred though as he kept his hand on Nico's shoulder. He lightly pulled Nico's hands from his face. He lightly wrapped Nico's hand in a bandage. As he secured that, he pushed Nico's chin up so his eyes met Will's blue one. He could not hear what Will was saying, but just seeing him started to calm him down. He started breathing in sync with Will. The feeling of hysteria passed as his breaths evened out. The world finally unmuted. He stopped shaking. He did not know how, but Will had been able to stop his panic attack.

"Better?" Will asked. The concern in his voice was almost palpable. Nico stood and Will joined him.

"Why are you here, Solace?" His question caused the son of Apollo to splutter.

"Why am I here? Because I care about you, Nico, and I care about your wellbeing." He said gently.

"You don't hate me?"

"Hate you? I do not hate you. Why would you think that?"

"Drew."

"Well, Drew is just jealous."

"Of what? She said you were sickened by me. By what I am."

"You don't have a sickness. You are not an abomination. I am a healer, and I can tell you that you are not ill. You are perfectly fine, Nico di Angelo. Homosexuality is not a disease, not a problem, and nothing to be ashamed of." Will stated simply.

"But Drew and-"

"Drew is a bitch and everyone who has given you crap has no idea what they are talking about." At his words, Nico's heart jumped.

"So, you aren't disgusted by me?" He asked, tentatively.

"Of course not! I would have to be disgusted with myself if I were with you." Wait.

"You mean you are-"

"Gay? Yes. And are you disgusted with me?"

"What? No!"

"Did that piece of information change your opinion or view of me?"

"No! Why would it?"

"Exactly," Oh. Nico understood what Will was doing. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, Nico. And Drew only said those things because she liked me at one point and I rejected her...Well, because she is a bitch and I'm gay. And she's jealous of you."

The words did not make sense to Nico. "Jealous? Of me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Wow, you really are dense," Will said, exasperated. "Why do you think I stay up all night making sure you're okay? Or make sure you are eating? Or aren't hurting yourself?"

Nico did not allow himself to hope. "Because you are my doctor?"

"Because I love you, Nico! Because I care about you!" The confession warmed Nico to his core. "Nico di Angelo, I am in love with you!" William Solace, the very healer he had been crushing on, loved him? These thoughts continued to run through his head for a couple of minutes before Will interrupted them.

"Well. Say something." He looked up at Will.

He grabbed Will's shirt and pulled him forward. He turned them around, pinning Will against the wall. Their lips collided and Nico felt fireworks in the pit of his stomach. He watched as Will's eyes fluttered shut, and his slid closed as well. Suddenly, their position flipped, and Nico was being pinned by Will as he took control of the kiss. Both of Will's hands were on the sides of his face, trying to give himself leverage on the kiss. He was kissing freaking Will Solace. He had dreamed about this. His first kiss was with freaking William Solace. William freaking Solace! He broke off the kiss to breathe. Will's blue orbs opened, his eyes sparkling.

"So, I take it you return my feelings?" He said smirking.

"Shut up, Solace!" He muttered, determined to kiss that smirk off Will's face.

He leaned back in and Will met him halfway, leaning down. His hands tangled themselves into Will's hair and Will let out an approving moan. He broke off the kiss again and Will moved down to his neck, burying his face in his shoulder. He felt Will leave searing kisses on his neck. He felt tingles of pleasure work their way through his body. He tilted his head back, exposing more of his neck.

"Am I interrupting?" Nico and Will both have whipped toward the door. Jason was grinning at them. Nico felt his face turn beet red, and Will's face looked similar. He felt mortified. "Took you long enough."

"Get out of my cabin, Grace!"

Jason chuckled. "Just come on and join the rest of us when you are ready." He closed the door. Nico could faintly hear Jason's voice then a shriek of excitement from Piper who Nico guessed had been standing outside with Jason. He awkwardly looked back to Will, who was smiling, embarrassed.

"Can I assume that you are staying? And have gotten over this idea of leaving?"

"Yes, yes you can," Nico said, a smile working its way onto his face.

"Good," Will nodded, as he laced his fingers with Nico's. "So, what does this make us?"

"Friends."

"Nico! We were friends before." Nico kept a straight face, though the incredulous face on Will's face made him want to laugh. He wanted to mess with Will.

"No. You were my annoying doctor who forced me to hang out with him. Now, I suppose, we can be friends." Will looked shocked. Nico bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.

"Nico!" Nico burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding. I'm kidding." Will looked at him in amazement. "What?"

"I don't think I have ever heard you laugh before." He punched Will in the shoulder as he said this. "What? I'm being serious." He said grinning. "And it is the cutest, most beautiful laugh I have ever heard." Nico spluttered.

"Cute? I am not cute. I am dark and brooding. I hang out with skeletons. I am the son of Hades. I bring the wrath of Hell. I am the Ghost King." Nico stated, trying to look menacing. But Will just laughed.

"Okay, my little ray of darkness. You are terrifying," he said, with no menace, poking Nico on the nose. "So," he brought up their interlocked fingers. "What does this make us?"

Nico fought down uneasiness as he answered the question. "I don't know. I want to be with you, but I do not want everyone to know. And I'm not really about the whole PDA thing."

"Of course, I totally understand! Whatever you are most comfortable with!" Will smiled, looking genuine. "Now, ready to go join everyone else?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Will gave him a peck on the cheek and released his hand.

Nico opened his cabin door to find a small crowd outside. They all gave a loud roar when they saw Nico and Will. Some "I told you so's," and "about time's" could be heard from the crowd. Nico grinned, sheepishly, interlocking his fingers with Will, who gave him a look, asking if it was okay. Nico nodded and brought his and Will's hands up, showing them to the crowd. Tumultuous applause and shouting could be heard. He and Will merged into the crowd and found the seven and Reyna. Their faces were all shining.

"We are so glad you are back, Nico!" Annabeth said.

"So, you brought Leo back, huh? When were you planning on telling us?" Piper asked, raising her voice to be heard over the crowd.

His response was cut short. "Is that why you kept leaving camp and shadow traveling?" Percy asked. He barely had time to nod, before Hazel asked a question.

"When were you going to tell me about Will?"

Frank asked. "Why did you run off earlier?" He held out his hand, asking for quiet, and started answering the questions. When he mentioned Drew, everyone looked murderous at what Drew had said, but Nico asked them not to sink to Drew's level. He finished answering questions and continued playing with Will's hands.

"Enough of that. Ever heard of too much PDA, love birds?" Their stares broke off as Leo spoke. "Now, Leo's back, so let's get this party started!" Everyone laughed, and Will pulled Nico to his side, arm loosely wrapped around his waist. Nico looked around at all his friends and finally found where he belonged. A place where he was wanted. Camp Half-Blood was finally his home.

**End (oh at least until the sequel)**

**sequel link: https: //archiveofourown.org/works/29044434**


End file.
